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Colorado Rockies Earn Spot in History Books After Blown Lead, Walk-Off Grand Slam

By blowing a four-run lead to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning, then walking it off with a grand slam right after, the Colorado Rockies made history Friday.

Sam Connon

Apr 5, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies third base Ryan McMahon (24) celebrates his walk-off grand slam.
Apr 5, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies third base Ryan McMahon (24) celebrates his walk-off grand slam. / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
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The Colorado Rockies very nearly suffered an embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, but instead, they made history.

Colorado took a 6-2 lead into the ninth inning of its 2024 home opener, treating fans to what looked to be a sure-fire victory. Reliever Justin Lawrence came in to close things out, though, and he immediately gave up five runs to put the Rockies in a hole.

Needing one run to force extra innings, Colorado drew three walks to open the bottom of the ninth. After superstar Kris Bryant struck out swinging, third baseman Ryan McMahon stepped up to the plate with the game on the line.

McMahon took the first pitch he saw deep, crushing it 417 feet to right-center.

The walk-off grand slam gave the Rockies a 10-7 win, as well as a place in the history books.

Per OptaSTATS, the Rockies became the first team in MLB history to blow a four-plus-run lead in the top of the ninth, then hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the inning.

It was quite the dramatic win for a Colorado team that entered the day 1-6 on the season. The slow start and last-place standing in the NL West wasn't exactly unexpected, but the team was still able to draw a near-sellout crowd of 48,399.

Those fans got to witness not only a dramatic victory, but a historic one as well. And while the celebration may have been contained to Friday afternoon, now it's time to see if the Rockies can carry the momentum through the rest of the weekend.

The Rockies and Rays are set to face off again Saturday night at 8:10 p.m. ET.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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