The Rockies, oh so desperately needed someone to make a big splash.
Two players delivered Friday night — one of them literally — in the Rockies’ 3-2 win over the Pirates at PNC Park.
Ryan McMahon led off the Rockies’ three-run sixth inning with a 445-foot homer that splashed down in the Allegheny River. That inning gave right-hander Cal Qauntrill all the support he needed to notch his first victory in a Rockies uniform.
The Rockies (8-24) snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 3-14 on the road. But the win didn’t come without white knuckles. Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz crushed a two-run homer off lefty reliever Jalen Beeks in the ninth, but Beeks struck out Connor Joe and Jared Triolo to preserve the win.
Quantrill pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up just three hits, all singles. His split-finger change-up confounded the Pirates, and he struck out nine and walked none. Seven of his strikeouts came via his split-finger. He also got seven groundball outs; of his 99 pitches, 66 were thrown for strikes.
He looked like he might have a chance for his first complete game, but when he plunked Joey Bart with two outs in the eighth, manager Bud Black replaced him with reliever Jake Bird.
McMahon’s enormous homer jump-started Colorado’s stalled offense. He punished veteran left-hander Martin Perez’s 1-1 changeup for his team-leading fifth home run. McMahon joined Hall of Famer Todd Helton as the only Rockies player to reach the Allegheny River.
Colorado Rockies’ Ryan McMahon, right, is greeted by Elias Díaz as he heads to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Martín Pérez during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Helton did it on May 4, 2001, the first year PNC opened. Helton was the second player to accomplish the feat. Houston’s Lance Berkman was the first. McMahon became the 49th player to hit a homer into the Allegheny River. It’s been done 71 times.
Designated hitter Elias Diaz followed up McMahon’s homer with a double. Elehuris Montero drove in Diaz with a single to left and took second on a throw to the plate. Brendan Rodgers battled reliever Hunter Stratton through a 12-pitch at-bat to core Montero with an RBI single to right.
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Saturday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-2, 4.50 ERA) at RHP Jared Jones (2-3, 3.18 ERA)
2:20 p.m. Saturday, PNC Park
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
Gomber has pitched relatively well but has nothing to show for his efforts. He’s coming off a season-high seven-inning game against the Astros in Mexico City. He allowed four runs on six hits, but the Rockies lost 8-2. Gomber, the former Cardinal, is familiar with the Pirates, having faced them eight times. In his four starts against the Bucs, he’s 0-2 with a 10.20 ERA.
Jones, just 22, has never faced the Rockies. He’s coming off a tough, 3-2 loss at San Francisco. He gave up three runs over five innings. He enters Saturday’s game tied with the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto with the most strikeouts (42) among all major league rookies. He’s had seven or more strikeouts in his first five career games and has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his first six big-league starts.
Pitching probables
Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-2, 4.50) at RHP Jared Jones (2-3, 3.18 ERA), 2:20 p.m.
Sunday: Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-2, 5.13) at LHP Bailey Falter (2-2, 4.22), 11:35 a.m.
Monday: Off day
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