Rockies nearly make history, rally for truly wild win

Chase Anderson tossed seven no-hit innings at Coors Field on Friday night.

And when he was lifted for relief pitcher Justin Lawrence to begin the eighth inning, Anderson left on track to take the loss.

In the end, he — and the Rockies — didn’t. They avoided becoming the seventh team to lose a no-hitter. Of course, they lost the no-hitter. But they emerged with a 3-2 win at Coors Field.

First, Ryan McMahon and Ezequiel Tovar got Anderson off the hook in the bottom of the eighth. McMahon’s leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth inning and Tovar’s RBI single tied the game at 1-1 and let Anderson escape with a no-decision from his seven-inning masterpiece.

Then, with a 2-1 deficit in the ninth inning after Nick Mears issued a bases-loaded walk to Wilmer Flores in the top of the frame, Elehuris Montero ended matters with a single to left field that scored both Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Jones. A throwing error from Mike Yastrzemski allowed Jones to score, and the Rockies escaped with a wild walk-off.

THE NO-HIT BID FOR THE ROCKIES LASTED THROUGH EIGHT INNINGS

Collectively among Anderson, Lawrence and Mears, the no-hit bid lasted eight innings, making it the third-longest no-hit attempt in club history. Ubaldo Jimenez’s 2010 no-hitter in Atlanta remains the only no-no in Rockies annals.

But Anderson’s work highlighted the night — even though he left with the Rockies trailing, 1-0. The Giants scored in the top of the second after Anderson walked Michael Conforto and LaMonte Wade, Jr. to open the inning. A subsequent fly out to left field and a force out scored Michael Conforto.

Anderson found his groove starting in the third inning. He walked just two batters from the third through seventh innings. But until the final two innings, the Rockies’ bats remained silent.

Manager Bud Black pulled Anderson after the seventh inning. Black said Anderson told him it was his longest outing in four years. Black also noted that he didn’t want to risk long-term damage to Anderson, who recently returned from a stint on the injured list.

“He agreed. He knew that that was probably the end,” Black said afterward.

The win was also the Rockies’ third in succession after taking the final two games of the series with the Chicago Cubs. It gave the Rockies their first three-game winning streak since June.

And now, avoiding the first 100-loss season in team history appears realistic. At 54-92, the Rockies need to go 9-7 to avoid that ignominious milestone.

Given their work the last three games, that suddenly seems possible.

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