Rockies, Diamondbacks bring a lot of the same to NLCS

DENVER - Both teams have low payrolls and young players without much postseason experience. Both have suspect starting pitching outside of their aces and reliable bullpens. Both find ways to win when it matters most.

The Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks are almost mirror images, creating the potential for a chess match in the National League Championship Series that starts Thursday in Phoenix.

For Colorado, making its first NLCS in franchise history wasn’t easy. The Rockies, who completed a three-game sweep of Philadelphia in the NL Division Series on Saturday, needed wins in 14 of their final 15 games to capture the NL wild card.

The Diamondbacks, who swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS, weren’t the clear-cut best team in the NL West but won their first division title since 2002 by going 43-29 after the All-Star break. They’re 32-20 in one-run games.

A group of hard-hitting youngsters — NL batting champion Matt Holliday, NL Rookie of the Year candidate Troy Tulowitzki, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe — and a grizzled veteran in Todd Helton carried Colorado to a franchise-record 90 wins during the season.

Jeff Francis, the Rockies’ probable starter in Game 1 of the NLCS, has provided consistency — something that’s lacking in the rest of a rotation that includes Franklin Morales, Josh Fogg, Ubaldo Jimenez and Mark Redman.

But the Rockies have discovered toughness in middle relievers Jeremy Affeldt, Taylor Buchholz, LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Herges and Ryan Speier. And closer-turned-setup man Brian Fuentes has been nearly untouchable as a bridge to Manny Corpas.

On the other hand, Arizona’s resolve is evident in a quick glance at its statistics. Every starting position player is hitting below .300 and every starting pitcher but reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, who will likely pitch Game 1, has an earned-run average above 4.20.

The Diamondbacks have gotten it done with timely hits from Eric Byrnes, Conor Jackson and Mark Reynolds. As long as their starter lasts six innings, Tony Pena, Brandon Lyon and Jose Valverde typically can take it the rest of the way. Valverde led the majors with 47 saves.

“We have seen them a lot,” Francis said of Arizona, which went 8-10 against Colorado in the regular season. “We know they’re good. We know they’re just as hot as us, if not hotter. We know it’s going to be a good series.”

Like Colorado, Arizona has become a lot younger in recent years.

The Diamondbacks, with a $58.8 million payroll, no longer rely on veterans like they did in 2001 when they won the World Series. At 32, second baseman Augie Ojeda is Arizona’s oldest starting position player, and its oldest starting pitcher is 32-year-old Livan Hernandez.

With a $40.7 million payroll, Colorado has reaped success in the third season of a youth movement. Manager Clint Hurdle said his players “believe in themselves. They don’t let the game spit them forward too fast. They stay humble.

“We’ve done things the old-fashioned way, showed a lot of patience,” Hurdle said. “We’ll enjoy the time now. We know we are playing a team that has been creative in finding ways to win, and we know they also pitch very well.

“They’ve had more success than us in the past. That was always a little rock in our shoe that we’ve had to wear. The opportunity to play them in the NLCS is going to be special.”