DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies won the National League pennant with a 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 6-4 score is significant, both to the team's manager, Clint Hurdle, and to a family he met two years ago in Highlands Ranch.

The numbers put together are 64, which is the number Kyle Blakeman first started wearing on his football jersey when he was 7 years old.

Two years ago, Blakeman came down with a rare and fatal form of kidney cancer, renal medullary carcinoma.

The cancer often strikes children with sickle cell traits.

Shortly afterwards, a friend of the Blakemans ran into the Rockies' manager at a neighborhood grocery store and asked him to contact the boy. He did, several times, and was apparently impressed.

"He said he kept our phone number in his car, on the sun visor," said Joanna Blakeman, Kyle's mom. "He said he would pull it down and say a prayer, and call us, and chat."

During one visit to the hospital, while the Rockies were struggling, Hurdle asked Kyle Blakeman if he had a lucky number.

"He gave him his football (jersey) number, 64, and Clint wrote it at the top of his lineup card." Joanna said.

Then the Rockies started winning.

Young Kyle watched many of the games from his hospital bed.

Eventually, he succumbed to the disease at age 15.

The Rockies' manager kept writing 64 on his starting lineup cards and the Rockies kept winning.

Monday night, Kyle's sister threw the opening pitch for what would be the final game of the National League Championship Series.

"It was pretty nerve wracking," Macie Blakeman said. When asked if she was thinking of her brother, she said, "Yes, actually I was. I was thinking, 'Help me.'"

As the game progressed, Macie and her parents couldn't believe their eyes.

"It's overwhelming," Joanna said. "When it hit us last night, we looked at each other in the eighth inning. I said, 'it's 6-4.' We got goosebumps."

"Of course we wanted the Rockies to score a couple of extra insurance runs," said Brad Blakeman, Kyle's dad. "But at the same time, we said, 'Let's try to keep the score 6-4. Maybe there's something there.'"

The Rockies scored their six runs in the fourth inning. It's more than a coincidence, the Blakemans said.

They believe Kyle has someone's ear up in heaven.

"Good things happen to good people," the Blakemans said. "And the whole Rockies organization, especially Clint, they've just been so wonderful to a lot of children, not just Kyle."

When Kyle told Clint his lucky number was 64, his mom and dad were surprised. They said Kyle's baseball jersey number was 21.

As it turns out, with Monday night's win, the Rockies have won 21 of their last 22 games.

"We just have to smile and go with it and say, 'Wow, this is so fantastic,' Joanna said. "It's just an honor, to Kyle and the life that he had. It's an honor to the Rockies, too."

The Blakemans said they wanted to talk about their son to shed more light on the disease that claimed his life.

They said nearly every child born in the U.S. is given a blood test, which includes a search for sickle cell traits.

The Blakemans said, "If those traits are found, you should discuss with your doctor how soon to begin screening for childhood kidney cancer."