Rockies 9, Padres 8 (13 innings)

The only problem with the pugilistic Michael Barrett blocking the plate is that he managed to block Tim McCelland’s view, too.

The drama of tonight’s awesome Wild Card tiebreaker is slim consolation for Mets fans who can mull the karmic injustice of Kaz Matsui and Jorge Julio (well, the latter anyway) surviving to face the Phillies.

Trevor Hoffman was on the mound with the bases empty for 2 shots at clinching the Wild Card in 3 days, though it would be terribly unfair to place a ton of blame on the San Diego closer. Had Bud Black just given Milton Bradley the day off 8 days ago, it’s doubtful the Padres would’ve found themselves in this situation.