Rockies need home remedy

BOSTON – Maybe going home will help the Colorado Rockies. At this rate, it can’t hurt.

The altitude, the humidor and the spacious outfield.

And maybe no David Ortiz in the lineup without the designated hitter.

The World Series shifts to Coors Field after the Rockies lost 2-1 to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night, putting them in a 0-2 hole heading into Saturday night’s Game 3 in Denver.

“They defended their home field and obviously we’re trying to find a way to defend ours,” Matt Holliday said.

Colorado has won 11 of its last 12 home games, including a thrilling N.L. wild-card tiebreaker over San Diego, a division clincher over Philadelphia and a thrilling comeback against Arizona for the franchise’s first N.L. pennant.

“When you win 21 of 22 and then you lose two in a row, it’s an awkward feeling to come back in the clubhouse,” rookie Troy Tulowitzki said. “But we’re still confident. We’re going to make a series out of this.”

During the season, the Rockies were 51-31 at home, tops in the National League.

Don’t count us out, manager Clint Hurdle said. After all, this was the resilient team that won 21 of 22 to get here and was one strike from elimination on the season’s final weekend.

“We’ve been down to one strike. We’ve been down to one strike, and we’re going home,” Hurdle said. “All we have to do is win what, four out of five?”

Of course, they had won 10 straight coming into Boston, where their brilliant bullpen went bust, their starting pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone and their sluggers turned into singles hitters – when they weren’t striking out.

The Rockies led the N.L. with a .280 batting average during the season, but have managed just two runs in two games in the World Series, where their average is .155.

The Rockies were excited to visit Fenway Park. After all, they had won 2 of 3 here in June, when they outscored Boston 20-5 and handed Josh Beckett his first loss.

Beckett dominated them in Boston’s blowout win in Game 1, after which third baseman Garrett Atkins shrugged and suggested, “It’s not like they broke our hearts tonight.”

They sure did in Game 2, edging the Rockies in a close one.

The Rockies’ night was summed up nicely when Holliday was picked off first base by closer Jonathan Papelbon after his fourth single of the night to end the eighth inning.

Holliday had sharp singles all four times up, three of them off Curt Schilling.

And there’s the rub for the Rockies: Their slugger who won the NLCS MVP by homering on consecutive nights against Arizona has gone from ball basher to singles hitter.

The Rockies already have enough of those.

Colorado got here by mixing small ball with a bevy of big boppers, but Atkins, Tulowitzki, Brad Hawpe, and Todd Helton have lost their long ball prowess.

Those four and Holliday averaged 26 homers and 111 RBIs this year.

In the postseason, they’ve totaled just five homers and accumulated just 15 RBIs in nine games.

“I wish I had an answer,” Tulowitzki said. “I’d let the guys know and get us all back on track.”