helton-todd2The Colorado Rockies’ first baseman had a day to remember yesterday, belting out his 500th career double and lifting an eighth-inning hit over the wall in right-center field to carry his team to victory.

Todd Helton became the 50th player ever to hit 500 doubles in a career, and the home run later in the game helped keep the Rockies a game and a half ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the National League wild-card race (via MLB.com, with video of the home run).

But it wasn’t all good yesterday. Enigmatic set-up pitcher Manual Corpas (see Purple Row’s analysis) found out that he needs surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow, writes The Denver Post. The Post’s Troy Renck notes that Corpas could be back by September, when the team is making its final run for a playoff spot.

For now, replacement candidates include pitchers Joel Peralta (who was just demoted to AAA), Randy Flores, and the recently signed Matt Herges. This only exacerbates the need for the Rockies to trade for a relief pitcher before the July 31 trading deadline. They’ll clearly have to do something. Let’s see if “Dealing” Dan O’Dowd has it in him.