The Rockies stole home for the first time in nearly 13 years. But that was just a subplot to their 16-4 shellacking of the Pirates Saturday night at Coors Field.
In front of a lively crowd of 40,033, backup catcher Hunter Goodman rocked LoDo with a supercharged performance. Michael Toglia provided a fireworks grand finale with a grand slam in the eighth, the first of his career.
Goodman, 24, hit two home runs, doubled, singled, and drove in four runs. His four hits were a career-high, and it was the first time he’s hit two homers in a big-league game.
He came to the plate in the seventh a triple short of hitting for the cycle when he lashed a line drive to deep left-center. If the ball bounced off the wall at just the right angle, Goodman might have had his cycle. Instead, the ball cleared the wall for his second homer of the night.
Goodman rocketed his first homer in the third, a leadoff, 440-foot blast off Pittsburgh rookie right-hander Jared Jones, to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.
Now, about that rare steal of home.
It came with two outs in the third inning on a heads-up piece of baserunning by Ryan McMahon, who is not particularly fleet of foot. Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes was playing about 40 feet off the bag and making no effort to hold McMahon. Catcher Yasmani Grandal looked McMahon back to third without much conviction and then lobbed the ball back to Jones. McMahon broke for home and scored standing up, without a throw.
Dexter Fowler, whom the late, great Vin Scully once called “Daddy Long Legs,” was the last Rockies player to steal home. Fowler did it on July 21, 2011, vs. the Braves at Coors Field.
Lefty starter Ty Blach, who helped steer Goodman through his second big-league start behind the plate, provided the solid building block for Colorado’s victory. He gave up seven hits and had to deal with traffic, but he held the Pirates to two runs over 5 2/3 innings.
Nick Gonzalez whistled a 429-foot line-drive homer to center in the fourth. Blach dodged big-time trouble in the sixth. Pittsburgh loaded the bases on a single by Gonzalez and two freebies — Blach plunked Connor Joe and walked Edward Olivarez. Yasmani Grandal’s infield single behind the second-base bag scored Gonzalez.
That was it for Blach, who applauded from the dugout as reliever Geoff Hartlieb got Jared Triolo to foul out to first baseman Elehuris Montero.
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Pirates TBA at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (2-8, 4.87 ERA)
1:10 p.m. Sunday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Hudson has pitched better of late, but he’s struggled at Coors Field, going 0-3 with a 7.57 ERA in six starts. Opponents have raked him at a .321 clip in LoDo. He’s 2-5 in eight road starts with a 3.07 ERA and a .197 average against. Overall, Hudson has pitched better lately, posting a 3.41 ERA over his last six starts. The former Cardinals pitcher is familiar with the Pirates, having faced them 11 times (seven starts) in his career, going 2-1 with one save and a 4.82 ERA. He faced Pittsburgh on Sept. 1 last season at Busch Stadium, allowing one run on just three hits over seven innings.
Pitching probables
Monday: Dodgers LHP James Paxton (6-1, 3.92) at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (6-4, 3.30), 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler (1-4, 4.64) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (1-4, 4.26), 6:40 p.m.