Starting Five: Rockies Hand Giants Crushing Defeat in 14th

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That most of you probably missed one of the biggest, most entertaining baseball games of the season late Monday night. The Rockies and Giants, the top two teams in the NL wild-card race, played deep into the night, with the Rockies scoring five runs in the bottom of the 14th to win 6-4. Ryan Spilborghs' walk-off grand slam -- the first in Rockies history -- came just after Giants reliever Justin Miller had walked pitcher Adam Eaton with the bases loaded.

With the victory, the Rockies took a four-game lead in the wild-card race, their biggest of the season, and also pulled within three of the first-place Dodgers, just before Los Angeles comes to Denver to start a three-game set on Tuesday.

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For the Giants, this was arguably their toughest regular-season loss since Steve Finley's walk-off grand slam capped a seven-run ninth to eliminate the Giants and clinch the division for the Dodgers in 2004. After losing two of the first three games of the series, the Giants needed a victory to stay within close range of Colorado.

Not only did the Giants blow a three-run lead in the 14th, including that unforgivable walk to the pitcher, but they also lost Pablo Sandoval with a tight calf. He said he'd been dealing with the nagging injury for a few days, and he isn't sure if he'll play Tuesday.

Oh, the Giants also shot through seven relievers. Closer Brian Wilson, who worked 2 2/3 innings, probably won't be available for Tuesday's game against Arizona. Of course, they may not need Wilson. They're facing Dan Haren.

From The Trainers' Room...
White Sox righty Jake Peavy, rehabbing from an ankle injury, may have made his last rehab start before his White Sox debut. Although Peavy got hit in the arm by a line drive during his five scoreless innings at Triple-A, he said he was fine. That, coupled with Jose Contreras' shaky outing, has the White Sox talking about Peavy starting for Chicago on Saturday in New York.

"If (Peavy) says he's ready to give us five, six, seven (innings), that might be enough in Kenny's mind," said White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, referring to general manager Ken Williams. "But if he can't say that, we'll have to go for someone else."

By The Numbers...
The Phillies keep looking better for getting Cliff Lee instead of Roy Halladay. Both pitched on Monday. Lee improved to 5-0 with an 0.68 ERA in his five starts with the Phillies, pitching seven innings without allowing an earned run in a victory over the Mets. Meanwhile, Halladay had one of the worst starts of his career, losing to the Rays. Halladay gave up 12 hits and eight runs (seven earned) in six innings. Halladay has lost two consecutive starts, and four of his past six.

In Their Own Words...
"We were in the dugout just shaking our heads like 'this guy is unhittable.' It was just one of those days," -- A's designated hitter Jack Cust, on Mariners righty Ian Snell. Snell gave up one run in six innings. He's had three quality starts in five outings with the Mariners.

Advance Scouting...
There are four mid-week series involving two contenders. Besides the Rockies and Dodgers, who open a three-game series in Denver (8:40 PM ET), the Rangers open a series against the Yankees in New York (7:05 PM ET), and the White Sox-Red Sox (7:05 PM ET) and Tigers-Angels (10:05 PM ET) will continue their series. The best bet is the Dodgers-Rockies, since those teams are actually fighting each other, and only three games apart.