With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Cardinals leading 2-1, Matt Holliday lost a sinking line drive in the lights, couldn’t track the ball, and instead of catching it, appeared to take it square in the nuts. Most reports are saying the ball hit Holliday in the stomach, but I think they are trying to avoid adding insult to injury, because if you watch the above video replay (with bonus Couples Retreat preview! You haven’t seen that before!), it’s pretty clear that the ball drilled him square in the junk. The Dodgers capitalized on the error, scoring two runs, including the game-winning single by Mark Loretta that scored Casey Blake to beat the Cardinals 3-2 and take a 2-0 series lead. The Cardinals are perhaps now drowning their sorrows while Matt Holliday is icing his balls.

In other MLB Division Series playoff action…

Colorado Rockies 5, Philadelphia Phillies 4. The Rockies evened up their matchup with the Phillies at one game apiece as the series heads to chilly Colorado. Speaking of nuts, after pitching five innings and surrendering four earned runs, starter Cole Hamels departed the game and then had to rush to the hospital after his wife went into labor. I hope the Hamels saved some of the placenta to share with the whole team. If you have never sampled placenta, you must. It tastes delightful on a Chicken in a Biskit.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5, Boston Red Sox 0. The Angels appeared to solve their issues with the Red Sox, at least for one game (Boston has beaten Anaheim in three consecutive playoff series), as John Lackey pitched 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing only four singles. Torrii (the extra ‘i’ is for ‘incredible’) Hunter got the scoring started in the fifth inning with a mammoth three-run homer off BoSox lefthander Jon Lester. Kendry Morales added a two-run single in seventh, Darren Oliver retired all five batters he faced in relief and the Angels took a 1-0 series lead. Call it the power of the Rally Monkey, but have no fear, Boston fans. I’m pretty sure the Red Sox will have their own primitive primate of their own cheering them on when they return to Boston.

There’s something very Scorsese about a grand slam in extra innings. It’s a bit like sitting through a four-hour mob movie, only to see one guy empty an entire machine gun into another guy when just one bullet will do. It’s more gratuitous than awesome, but still awesome.

Anyway, Colorado Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs did hit a grand slam of the 14th inning–after grounding out in the 10th with the winning run on third–for that Rocky Mountain high against their divisional rival San Francisco, 6-4.

“It’s a two-game swing,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “They’re looking like they’re going out of here two back and now they’re going home four. That’s absolutely huge.”

Other baseball-y goodness: The Nationals once again put the “Aw” in “Awesomely bad,” giving up six runs in the sixth against Milwaukee, who won, 7-1…Last month’s trade bait is this month’s chum: Blue Jays “ace” Roy Halliday was lit up for eight runs last night against Tampa Bay. The Rays prevailed, 12-7…After Jason Giambi signed with Colorado, he reported to Triple-A Colorado Springs; he’ll expect to be called up when the active rosters expand in September…and Boston won, but screw them.

Big League Stew brings us this video of an ad for Colorado Rockies baseball. As opposed to, you know, Colorado Rockies hockey, the former NHL franchise that became the New Jersey Devils in 1982. And shouldn’t a blog titled Big League Stew be written by a guy named Stewart? It looks like Helton went down on some broad from the Ukraine and her bush just stuck to his face. It’s his perogative to take a souvenir from the Iron Meat Curtains. That’s my kind of ballplayer.

this woman streaked at last night's Rockies-Phillies game (Philly won, by the way).  And by "streaked" I mean she ran around in more clothes than Hooters waitresses, anyone on spring break, or your mom. 

Fortunately for us, reader Jeepster was at the game, and he provides us with such a detailed description of the event that we hardly need the photograph.

I was at the Rockies/Phillies game tonight where Manny Corpas put on a clinic on how to blow a lead. Runners on second and third, we [I think Jeepster plays for the Rockies - Ed.] intentionally walk the #4 hitter with a .180 BA, so we can try to get a double play ball from the next batter, who is hitting .348. Of course he hits a triple. Fucking Rockies.

I think it was the seventh or eighth, but there was a very busty woman who entered the field, ripped off her shirt, then ran across the outfield, boobs bouncing in her bra the whole way. She got stopped in centerfield, where she was escorted off.

I guess the first part of this was shown on TV, but they cut away pretty quickly. I'm not sure if there were any readers paying attention with cameras. I just got a shitty cell phone pic from the club level, not a good quality pic.

It's 9:30 on the East Coast, and a few minutes ago the Rockies and Padres finished up their 22-inning marathon in San Diego, the longest MLB game in almost 15 years.  Colorado won 2-1, and how the hell you can only score three runs in 22 innings is a damn mystery to me.  Congratulations, National League, your version DH-less version of baseball is more pure.  And mind-numbingly dull.

The Rockies finally won 2-1, with Troy Tulowitzki's two-out RBI double bringing in Willy Taveras with an unearned run in nearly empty Petco Park. A game that lasted 6 hours, 16 minutes was decided by an unearned run.

Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy threw the game's first pitch at 7:05 p.m. The game didn't end until 1:21 a.m., when Padres pitcher Glendon Rusch took a called third strike. Colorado's Yorvit Torrealba, who caught all 22 innings, wearily pumped a fist in celebration.

Big deal, I wearily pumped your mom.  Hold on, lemme check… yep, that's a burn.

In other, more exciting sports news involving long-ass games, the Flyers beat the Caps 4-3 in double-overtime to take a 3-1 series lead.  Hmmm… there was an exciting playoff hockey game, and I lead with the boring baseball game.  This is what happens when my editor is me.

It was all well and good making fun of Alex Rodrirguez for trying to steal the headlines from the World Series champions (here in NYC, A-Rod indeed got top billing on all the rags), but a World Series championship merits its own post even at baseball-eh blogs like With Leather.  Just for fun, here's a portion of the Boston.com recap of the 2004 Series, re-jiggered for 2007:

En route to eight seven consecutive postseason wins, the Sons of Tito Francona simply destroyed a Cardinal Rocky team that won a major league-high 105 21 of 22 games to close the season in 2004 2007. The Sox did not trail for a single inning trailed for only three innings of the four-game sweep. No Cardinal Rocky pitcher lasted more than six innings and St. LouisColorado's vaunted row of sluggers was smothered by the likes of Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez Josh Beckett, closer Keith Foulke Jonathan Papelbon, and Lowe Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Basically, it's the same story with less drama.  ALDS sweep, ALCS comeback, World Series sweep.  There just isn't the whole magic of the long-suffering fan base and the only Yankees subplot of the postseason is how they managed to stay in the headlines without playing any games.

So, yes: congratulations, Red Sox.  And bravo to the Rockies, who were a great story to have along the way.  If it's any consolation, the skiing in Colorado is still 8 million times better than anywhere in New England.