These Rockies are an absolutely amazing story that NO ONE could have predicted when the season began. I rode the escalator downstairs after the game with Jay Alves, their media relations director and a longtime friend of mine, and we were just shaking our heads at the absurdity of it all. I was a backup on the beat for one of the Denver papers the last time these guys won nine in a row back in 1997, which until tonight was a franchise record that could be broken tomorrow, but that came after the club was already out of contention and didn’t make that much of a stir. This is something else entirely. The scary thing is, clubs that make the playoffs after getting on a roll like this tend to stay hot when they get there (remember the 2003 Marlins?), so these guys are by no means looking at an automatic first-round exit. Of course, they have to get there first, and the Padres rallied to beat the Giants tonight, so the Rockies are still a game back in the wild card. … As for the boys, well, they fell to 80-77, and tney better get untracked quickly if they’re going to salvage a winning season. They once had to go at least 3-11. Now, after losing eight of nine, they have to go at least 2-3. But at least they don’t appear to be sleepwalking anymore, like they did last week. Could that have something to do with Grady suddenly playing all the kids? Home runs tonight by Hu, Loney and Delwyn Young, and the other run was driven in on a single by LaRoche. … By the way, they started a new chant after Hu’s homer in the fourth inning: “Huuuuuuuuuu.” As in, “They’re not booing, they’re chanting `Huuuuuuuuuuu.”’