When the Colorado Rockies fell to the lowly Miami Marlins on June 24, their record dropped to 38-40. Then they began a stretch of eight weeks during which every opponent had a winning record — and they dominated.
“We looked at it and we said, ‘O.K., we’re going to find out what we’re made of here,’” Manager Bud Black said by phone the other day, after the Rockies had gone 30-16 in those games. “Sure enough, our guys responded, both with the bats and on the mound. That showed me something. Every team over .500 is thinking about the playoffs, so it was awesome to go through it.