Sam Hilliard woke up determined Friday morning to end a miserable 0-for-18 slump.
It started with changing his own reflection. Literally.
“I looked at myself in the mirror,” Hilliard recalled. “And I said: ‘This beard has no hits.’”
A clean shave worked wonders for the struggling 28-year-old Rockies outfielder. Hilliard went 2 for 4 with a walk against the Royals — including his first homer of the season — for a fresh start that matched his new look.
“That was a good swing for Sam. Anytime you get your first home run, I think players exhale,” manager Bud Black said following Colorado’s 14-10 home loss to Kansas City. “That was a good one. He had a couple of good at-bats, too. There was a good walk in there in the middle part of the game.”
Hilliard entered the night with just a .145 batting average through 21 games this season.
“I just wanted to kind of start clean and have a different feel going into the game (Friday). I just shaved my face and wore the pants down. It felt a little different out there. But it obviously helped,” Hilliard said. “I’m pretty sure everybody liked it. I got a lot of comments about how I look younger. My wife told me she definitely likes the beard. But she’s gonna have to suck it up for at least a little while.”
Hilliard’s home run — a 443-foot deep shot to center — was especially cathartic. The Rockies entered their current homestand after failing to hit any home runs on the team’s prior six-game road trip through Arizona and San Francisco.
“Itap such a relief. I feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, especially with that first homer of the year,” Hilliard said. “Making nice, hard contact in most of the games that I’ve been in, without getting results or seeing the ball go over the fence, has been really frustrating. When I hit that, I sat on the bench and just said: ‘Finally.’
“Took a deep breath and felt pretty good. But I’ve still got a long way to go.”
Rodgers up and down. Evaluating the performance of Rockies’ infielder Brendan Rodgers proved difficult on Friday night.
Rodgers was phenomenal at the plate going 3 for 5 with a two-run homer to further erase concerns about his lackluster start at the plate. But Rodgers also committed a costly fifth-inning error — bobbling a routine groundball — that led to a pair of unearned runs for Kansas City.
“I’m sure Brendan would rather trade a couple of those hits for that groundball when Kyle (Freeland) was in the game,” Black said. “But that was good to see him get in on a high fastball for the homer. … He used the whole field, which is what Brendan can do. He’s got power everywhere.”
Rodgers, back healthy after dealing with a hand injury, is not concerned about being a defensive liability moving forward.
“Itap part of the game,” Rodgers said. “You make errors. You have good games and you have bad games. I’ve got just to keep going and keep grinding. Itap a long season.”
On Deck
Royals LHP Daniel Lynch (2-2, 4.01 ERA) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (2-3, 4.36)
1:10 p.m. Sunday, Coors Field
TV: ATTRM
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Gomber tossed three consecutive quality starts before taking his third loss of the season in his last outing. The southpaw allowed five runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts in an 8-5 defeat at the Giants. Gomber has still been among Colorado’s best pitchers since joining the team last season, with the Rockies winning eight of his past 11 starts at home. Gomber has made two career starts (with St. Louis) against the Royals and did not allow a run over 12 2/3 innings.
Lynch is making his sixth start of the year and first career appearance against the Rockies. The southpaw struggled in his last outing with his second loss of the season in a 4-2 defeat at the Orioles. He left the game after throwing 95 pitches over 3 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Lynch is 3-5 over 10 career road starts with a 4.50 ERA.
Trending: Infielder Brendan Rodgers set a career-high with three extra-base hits in Friday’s loss to the Royals. Rogers is scorching at the plate through the month of May going 13 for 37 (.351) with four doubles, two home runs and 12 RBIs.
At issue: The Rockies have committed multiple errors in nine games this season — compared to just 10 such games all of last year — and have 26 total (tied for second-most in MLB). Colorado’s 26 unearned runs allowed in 2022 also lead the major leagues.
Pitching probables
Monday: Giants LHP Alex Wood (3-2, 3.60) at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-2, 4.88), 6:40 pm., ATTRM
Tuesday: Giants RHP Alex Cobb (2-1, 3.98) at Rockies RHP Chad Kuhl (3-1, 2.88), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Wednesday: Giants RHP Logan Webb (5-1, 3.48) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-4, 4.91), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM
