Here’s what we learned from this homestand as the Rockies hit the road for three games in Milwaukee, which sits in first place in the National League Central, and two games at San Diego.

Gabriel Hughes should get an extended look

After getting his first big-league start prior to the break, six innings of three-run ball at Dodger Stadium on July 8, Hughes made his first two career starts at Coors Field this homestand and looked solid. The rookie right-hander, whom the Rockies selected at No. 10 overall in 2022 and underwent Tommy John surgery in ’23, allowed two runs in five-plus innings against the Reds on July 17, followed by five innings of one-run ball on Wednesday against the Nationals.

For a franchise desperate for rotational depth, the Rockies need to keep Hughes in the rotation the rest of the year to see if the rookie can be part of the team’s long-term pitching solution.

“He’s pitching great,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He’s giving us a chance to win, attacking with his heater, throwing strikes, good body language, good poise, getting the breaking ball for punchouts, good changeup. He did it all (Wednesday) and gave us a really good shot to win this game.”

On Wednesday, Hughes battled through several key moments where his outing could’ve gone off the rails. His combination of a low-90s fastball, a mid-80s changeup and high-70s curveball was effective. He had five strikeouts, and his 18 K’s through the first three starts of his career are tied for the second-most in franchise history for a rookie.

“You get to 2-2 and 3-2, and that’s when you get (multiple) foul balls and suddenly you’re at an 8-, 9-pitch at-bat,” Hughes said. “That’s when you really find out what you’ve got and what you have in the tank. There was an 11-pitch at-bat in there. You’ve got to dig deep and get the out, and I was able to do that today.”

Rubber matches remain rough for Colorado

Following Wednesday’s 8-0 defeat that was highlighted by an ugly seventh inning in which the Nationals plated six runs and got help from a trio of errors by Mickey Moniak, Cole Carrigg and Brett Sullivan, Colorado dropped to 3-11 in rubber matches this season.

As those miscues underscored, the Rockies defense has been subpar this season. Entering Wednesday, the club had (62) in the NL. The Rockies’ .212 winning percentage in series-deciding games is the lowest in the majors, and in those missed clinchers, the Rockies have a -29 run differential. Wednesday’s seventh inning all but sealed the fate of the series, considering the Rockies are now 10-51 when behind after six innings.

“Sloppy, ridiculous, and the probably worst inning we’ve had all year defensively,” Schaeffer said of the seventh-inning meltdown. “That’s not us.”

Kyle Freeland’s recent trajectory

The Colorado native remains a Rockies workhorse, but the quality outings remain few and far between for a southpaw boasting a career-worst 7.28 ERA. Freeland has an MLB-leading nine losses, a year after pacing baseball with 17 losses.

In his outing against the Nationals on Monday, Freeland extended his streak of nine straight starts with at least five innings pitched. He allowed four runs over six innings while giving up two homers. The Thomas Jefferson alum was also at the center of with the Nationals’ Andres Chaparro, after Freeland chirped at Chaparro for going over the edge of the mound as the designated hitter jogged off the field following a flyout. Freeland doesn’t have good stuff this season, but he’s still got his signature fire.

Can Hunter Goodman set a Rockies record?

Home run machine Hunter Goodman picked up the second half right where he left off prior to the break and his second straight appearance in the Midsummer Classic.

The catcher blasted three homers in last Sunday’s 9-6 loss to the Reds, Goodman’s second time with three bombs this season as he also accomplished the feat on June 27 in Minnesota. With that, Goodman became the fourth Rockies player with multiple three-homer games in a career, joining Larry Walker, Todd Helton and Carlos González, and the fourth-fastest Colorado hitter to reach 30 homers in a season.

Goodman followed Sunday up with a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning on Tuesday in the 8-7 win over Washington, his third go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later this season. Goodman’s 11 homers in the seventh inning or later lead the majors. The way Goodman is mashing, the Rockies’ single-season home run record — 49, by Walker in 1997 and Helton in 2001 — could be within reach.

“You don’t see very many catchers in the game doing what he’s doing,” outfielder Mickey Moniak said. “You’ve got Cal Raleigh, Hunter Goodman, William Contreras, Will Smith — that’s the top.”

Monitoring the bullpen’s performance

The Rockies’ bullpen was hit-and-miss during the 2-4 homestand.

For Colorado to avoid becoming the fifth franchise in MLB history to lose 100-plus games four seasons in a row, the bullpen will need to pitch better than the 4.87 ERA it possessed entering Wednesday’s finale. That mark ranks second-worst in the NL, better than only the Nationals (5.13).

On Wednesday, right-handers Jimmy Herget and Zach Agnos combined to yield seven runs (five earned) over three innings. And on a trade deadline note, right-hander Antonio Senzatela’s market value has fallen over the last month. He had a 1.36 ERA at the end of May, but has posted a 7.94 ERA across June and July. That includes giving up a two-run homer in one inning of work in Monday’s loss.

Herget, who has an 8.59 ERA in 8 games in July, was blunt in his assessment of his performance on Wednesday.

“I was absolutely terrible,” Herget said. “I’ve had some spots this year where I’ve been really, really good, but this run has been pretty brutal. The season’s a roller-coaster… We have very capable relievers, we’re just in a little rut right now.”

That is what the shirt, worn by some Rockies teammates, reads. It is a lie.

Hunter is great, man.

With the trade deadline looming on Aug. 3, vultures are circling and trade rumors are surfacing over what it would take for the Rockies to move Hunter Goodman.

Goodman tied his career-high with 31 home runs on Tuesday, dropping to his back knee to launch an 87-mph slider over the left-field fence. He remains on pace to tie the single-season club record of 49.

He has more power in his bat than his former high school football teammate Kenneth Walker III has in his legs.

Only seven catchers have hit 40 homers in a season, leaving Goodman stalking Johnny Bench’s National League high-water mark of 45 set in 1970.

Goodman is a big deal, an All-Star. But he is not bigger than the Rockies.

He is great. But he is not greater than the Rockies need for starting pitching.

The easiest way for the Rockies to rebuild is by dealing Goodman.

And that is exactly what should NOT happen.

There is more than one way for the Rockies to climb back to relevance. They can execute multiple moves, including trading Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy, Antonio Senzatela, Brennan Bernardino, Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen and others.

Shipping out their 26-year-old catcher is the fastest path forward. It is not the best. The Rockies can afford to be patient with this chess piece.

The idea of trading Goodman sounds nuts to Rockies fans who are slowly warming back up to the franchise after nearly a decade of incompetence and arrogance.

People familiar with the Rockies’ thinking say the front office would have to be overwhelmed to deal Goodman.

Two agents suggested Wednesday it would take four of an organization’s top 30 prospects, including one in the top three and a second in the top 10.

A former big league GM believes the Rockies could only land three players because a pair of other catchers are on the market, Oakland’s Shea Langeliers and Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman.

One-time Reds and Nationals GM Jim Bowden proposed a blockbuster with the Red Sox: Goodman in exchange for big league starter Connelly Early, middle infielder Marcelo Mayer, defensive catcher Carlos Narvaez and No. 4 pitching prospect Kyson Witherspoon.

That is not the Herschel Walker deal, but it represents a dramatic overpay.

That is why the Rockies must pick up the phone if Boston, the Yankees or Rays call. Any team making this move will view Goodman as a long-term solution and believe it can win the World Series.

Desperation is the world’s worst cologne, and if somebody wants to swing a deal that requires pinching their nose, the Rockies have to consider it.

Remember, they are under new management. No longer are they trotting out tired excuses — we love our players, we did not get any offers, we want to hold onto our guys until they have no value — that produced the annual Snoozapalooza at the trade deadline.

There is actually a good explanation for keeping Goodman, whom ESPN ranks as MLB’s eighth best trade candidate.

First are the finances. Goodman remains under team control through the 2029 season.

There has been no movement on a long-term deal — when shortstop Ezequiel Tovar got his extension in 2024, he approached the Rockies and signed what, at the time, was a team-friendly, seven-year, $63.5 million contract. However, the Rockies can follow Goodman through the arbitration process without breaking their budget.

For now, he is the most cost-controlled big bat in the big leagues.

Secondly, Goodman has evolved into a serviceable catcher, improving enough to silence talk of a position switch or becoming a full-time DH. He is also a trusted pitch framer and ranks fourth in successful ABS challenges this season.

As the Rockies assess who will be part of their core when the team contends again, Goodman is penciled on the list because of his power, position and paycheck.

It would be cool if Colorado kept Moniak and McCarthy, players easy to root for because of their energy and production. But the Rockies desperately need rotation help, knowing prized free agents are never going to line up to pitch at Coors Field.

Colorado’s top pitching prospects — JB Middleton, Brody Brecht, Griffin Herring — are all struggling this season, and Sean Sullivan did not look like a future starter in his three-game big league cameo this summer.

The Rockies can never fear trading position players for arms, and they have a battery of capable outfielders on the big league roster and in Triple-A.

Moniak has resurrected his career in Colorado. He could pull a top 20 pitching prospect and a second player in the top 30. You have to trade him.

McCarthy profiles so well for the Rockies with his speed and positional versatility that it would hurt to ship him out. But with the Phillies and Astros making calls, DePodesta and Byrnes cannot be blamed if they take multiple pitchers for the leadoff hitter.

And if a contender wants a defensive whiz in Brenton Doyle for a first-round draft pick — that is what the Giants got for all-glove, no-hit catcher Patrick Bailey in May — do it.

Why deal Moniak, McCarthy or Doyle? Internal options. Cole Carrigg needs to play every day. Charlie Condon is thisclose to a promotion as he boasts 20 home runs and a .408 on-base percentage at Albuquerque. He strikes out 24.6 % of the time, countered by a 13.8% walk rate.

His bat is ready for the bigs.

“With Charlie, first of all, he’s getting used to playing first base and the outfield. Second of all, as he has evolved as a hitter, he is showing he is smart, structured and disciplined,” Byrnes said. “He is learning to strike that balance with getting to a spot to do damage. He has done that really well.”

The Rockies also have Jordan Beck hitting the reset button at the plate with the Isotopes, Zac Veen, a work in progress defensively, with 48 extra-base hits and the athletic Sterlin Thompson in the mix.

“We have real depth there,” Byrnes said. “And that’s a good thing as we think through our best roster moving forward.”

Senzatela, rejuvenated as a reliever, has to go. Same with the lefty Bernardino. The idea is to get younger and better, eventually.

The new front office, which impressed agents with its accurate draft valuations, is starting to inspire confidence that it can deliver a productive trade deadline.

It should not include Goodman. But clearly on the mound, the Rockies need a lot more good men.

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Clayton Beeter (3-3) gave up — on a 3-2 pitch — before Jordan Romano struck out two in the ninth for his seventh save. Juan Mejia (3-6) worked a scoreless eighth for the win.

José Tena had a two-out single off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the first and for the third straight game for a 2-0 lead.

Mickey Moniak hit an RBI single as Colorado answered with a four-run second against rookie opener Carson Palmquist. Troy Johnston added a sacrifice fly, and Jake McCarthy doubled in a run before scoring on a two-out single by rookie Cole Carrigg, who had three of Colorado’s 12 hits.

again — his 24th — with Tena aboard to tie it 4-all in the third. Abrams has 78 RBIs to match the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker for most in the majors.

Willi Castro hit a leadoff double in the third against Nationals reliever Miles Mikolas before scoring on Kyle Karros’ groundout for a 5-4 lead.

James Wood delivered a two-out, two-run double to put the Nationals ahead 6-5 and chase Lorenzen, who allowed six runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Goodman doubled and scored on a two-out single by TJ Rumfield to tie it in the fifth, and the sixth with his 16th homer to put the Rockies ahead 7-6.

Wood doubled in the seventh off Jimmy Herget before scoring on pinch-hitter Jorbit Vivas’ sacrifice fly to tie it at 7.

Palmquist was tagged for four runs and four hits over 1 2/3 innings in his seventh big league appearance, and Mikolas gave up three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Up next

Nationals RHP Cade Cavalli (6-4, 3.78 ERA) starts Wednesday opposite Rockies RHP Gabriel Hughes (0-1, 3.14).

In a 10-3 blowout over the Reds, Colorado scored four runs on five consecutive knocks with two outs. The new faces brought to the lineup by president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes were central in the hit brigade.

Jake McCarthy got it going with a bunt single. Then Mickey Moniak, a solid signing by the Rockies’ previous administration, singled. Dynamic rookie Cole Carrigg singled. Then DePodesta acquisitions TJ Rumfield and Willi Castro both singled, before fellow Colorado newcomer Troy Johnston lined out into the shift up the middle to end the frame.

That sequence underscored how four of those players — the left-handed hitting McCarthy, Rumfield and Johnston, plus the switch-hitting Castro — have been key in Colorado’s offensive turnaround. The unit has gone from one of MLB’s worst in 2025 to one of the league’s best in ’26. And that quartet, who are all turning in strong seasons, signals the philosophy behind DePodesta’s long-term lineup-building strategy.

“Probably what it shows is our flexibility of thought in terms of what a good player can look like for us,” DePodesta said. “Those guys aren’t all out of the same cloth. Jake is an outfielder with terrific range, well above-average speed. He can impact the game in a lot of different ways, can play the small-ball game, can steal bases. He’ll also hit some homers.

“TJ and Troy are both, to some degree, magicians with the barrel. They can find ways to get hits. They hit good pitching. And TJ in particular has shown himself to be an excellent defensive first baseman. They can both hit for power. And for Willie, a lot of his value doesn’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet, because his dependability provides an incredible amount of roster flexibility for us.”

All four players were either cast off or overlooked last offseason, enabling the Rockies to bring them into their fold.

The Rockies claimed Johnston off waivers in early November, a couple days before DePodesta was hired. Colorado director of baseball operations pulled off the move, but DePodesta was consulted on it.

The other three players all came to Colorado in January.

The Rockies in exchange for one of the minor-league pitching prospects, Josh Grosz, the club got in last summer’s deadline deal that sent Ryan McMahon to the Yankees. And the Rockies in exchange for an unproven bullpen arm, Angel Chivilli, who has only appeared in eight big-league games this year. As for Castro, Colorado to a two-year, $12.8 million deal after the 2024 All-Star had a down year split between the Twins and Cubs.

Johnston says finding value in players that other teams are willing to discard will be a key factor in Colorado’s attempted turnaround.

“If you’re not going to go out and sign a $60 million guy, then you’ve got to make a way to find the undervalued guys that really put together a lineup and put together consistently good at-bats,” Johnston said. “DePodesta and this front office are valuing so many key things when bringing in guys like me (and McCarthy, Rumfield and Castro).

“They’re valuing (expected weighted on-base average). They’re valuing chase rate. They’re valuing all the advanced stats that goes into the seasons that you’re seeing (these key newcomers) are having.”

Dramatic turnaround at first

Rumfield has been Colorado’s best player by bWAR this season (2.6 entering Tuesday, just ahead of catcher Hunter Goodman’s 2.4) while emerging as a National League Rookie of the Year candidate.

After easily winning the vacant first base job in spring training, Rumfield carried that momentum into the season and is coming off honors in May and June. He’s hitting .296 with a .476 slugging (both first among qualified NL rookies), plus 13 homers, 51 RBIs and a club-high 28 multi-hit games. He’s also been strong defensively, ranking in the 88th percentile in outs above average at first.

Compare that to the nightmare season the Rockies got from the position last year via Michael Toglia, who hit .190 while striking out at a 39.2% clip. By non-tendering Toglia and trading for Rumfield, DePodesta sent a clear message that the Rockies need to move away from the egregious strikeout rates that plagued them the last three 100-loss seasons and towards contact hitters. This year, Rumfield’s K rate is 14.5%.

“One of the biggest things is that (DePodesta and Byrnes) don’t hire people to change,” Johnston said. “They want players they bring in to have a lot of success doing whatever they do well. That’s what they tell a lot of the guys: ‘We need guys that can drive in runs, that can move the bases, walk.’ They really focused on walking, cutting down on strikeouts, and just hard contact.

“With TJ, one of the most interesting parts about him is that he always stays within himself. He knows exactly who he is as a hitter.”

Rumfield says he’s not paying attention to the Rookie of the Year race, in which he is a dark horse behind the top candidates, Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt and Reds corner infielder Sal Stewart.

But he looks around the Rockies clubhouse and sees a lot of young talent, many of whom are new to the team this season, that he thinks can help accelerate Colorado’s turnaround from last year’s historic 119-loss season.

“We’re building a good culture of young players, and that’s what the foundation of a good franchise is going to be,” Rumfield said. “It’s about having guys who are hungry. Like DePodesta said in spring training, you’ve got to have guys who can excel at the big-league level and not just be here. We have those guys in the clubhouse, and if you get enough of them, you start to put together the wins and play better baseball.”

‘A scrappy offense’

In the outfield, McCarthy has picked up the slack of Brenton Doyle (hitting .207 and hampered by injuries) and Jordan Beck (suffered a hamstring injury in May, and has been in Triple-A since late June after hitting .183).

McCarthy leads the Rockies , ranking fourth in the NL, and is one of three players in the majors with an average over .300 and slugging over .500. He is also first in the NL with a .392 average with runners in scoring position, is one of MLB’s fastest players and has been a solid defender in all three outfield spots.

He says his goal since coming to Colorado via trade is to “make Paul and Josh look super smart,” which he’s done so far. He also understands the assignment: Put the ball in play, use his speed (he leads the club with 17 steals, and his six bunt hits are tied for fourth in the majors) and limit the K’s (17.0% strikeout rate).

“I’m not trying to have weak contact, but I would rather hit a weak ground ball than strikeout just because there’s always an opportunity for an infield hit,” McCarthy said. “I understand we want to be a scrappy offense. I’m part of that. I feel like the Brewers are a good example of that. That (approach) wears on you as a defense.

“You combine that with the Coors Field element, and it’s how we can make an offensive identity.”

Meanwhile, Johnston is hitting .295. While McCarthy has bucked the norm by raking against lefties (.360) and Rumfield is hitting .311 against righties, Johnston is hitting .326 against righties. And Castro, who is hitting .264 this year, has played all four infield positions plus right field and center field as the team’s premier utility player.

DePodesta explains that Castro’s versatility has enabled other players to “carve out their niche.”

“Having him on this team is very instrumental for Kyle Karros, for TJ Rumfield, for Troy Johnston, for all those guys to get the opportunities they got to show what they can do at this level,” DePodesta said. “Willi gave us the ability to construct our team in a lot of different ways and to provide opportunities to young players (because he can play all the positions they play).”

As the Rockies aim to avoid becoming the fifth MLB team to lose 100 or more games four seasons in a row, manager Warren Schaeffer believes DePodesta’s additions to complement key returners such as Moniak (.276 average) and Hunter Goodman (30 homers) have already changed the lineup’s mentality.

“This offensive group is a group you want to go to battle with every night, and that’s what Paul wants, that’s what (Byrnes) wants,” Schaeffer said. “Guys that are a tough at-bat every at-bat, 27 outs, all night long, not giving anything away. We have a lineup full of those guys who typify that.

“The second inning (last Saturday showed)… we don’t have to hit (a bunch of) homers — just put the ball in play, and good things will happen in this ballpark.”

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Either way, his heroics on Sunday in a 9-6 loss to the Reds, belting three towering home runs to center field and knocking in five runs, put him in a class of his own. He’s now the first player in franchise history with two three-homer games in a season. Goodman’s previous three-homer day came against the Twins in Minneapolis on June 27.

Goodman now has 30 homers on the season, trailing only the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber (33) and the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez (31), both designated hitters.

It was Goodman’s 10th multi-homer game in just his fourth season in the bigs. His name keeps coming up in conversations with Rockies’ Hall of Famers Larry Walker and Todd Helton. Only three other Colorado players — Walker, Helton, and Carlos González — recorded multiple three-home-run games during their careers. Walker, who was inducted into Cooperstown in 2021, did it three times.

“It����ap definitely cool, knowing all the guys, the great players that played here,” Goodman said after the game.

“His body looks like it����ap flowing right. He looks dangerous. He just looks in sync,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “You can see the confidence seep out of him.”

Coors Field’s official attendance on Sunday was 20,158, a number that looked inflated from a scan around the ballpark on a simmering hot day when most of the world was at home watching the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain.

Those who did show up were treated to a parade of bombs, with Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson whacking two, DH Nathaniel Lowe hitting a three-run blast in the first inning and Sal Stewart adding a three-run homer in the second to make it 8-1 Reds. The Rockies’ Willi Castro made it interesting in the ninth inning with a 435-foot solo blast.

Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene struck out seven over six innings to earn the win, despite giving up two homers to Goodman — a solo shot in the first inning, then a two-run blast in the sixth inning. Goodman’s final homer of the day, a two-run, 435-foot bomb off reliever Sam Moll in the eighth inning, pulled the Rockies to within four. But Castro’s solo shot off Emilio Pagán was the final salvo, after Pagan struck out two and got Edouard Julien to pop out in foul territory to end the game.

Stephenson recorded his third career multi-homer game — with two of them coming against the Rockies.

The Rockies fell to 40-61 with the loss, while the Reds improved to 45-53.

“Down big after two innings, it����ap really hard to come back, but we kept fighting,” Schaeffer said. “It����ap one series where we lost. We move on to the next one.”

The Rockies open a three-game series Monday against the Washington Nationals, with Kyle Freeland (2-8, 7.36) set to start.

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That����ap according to Brock Burke, the Reds’ best reliever this season, who finished up a weekend of work at Coors Field by pitching a scoreless seventh inning in a 9-6 Cincinnati win. Despite Hunter Goodman’s three home runs on Sunday, the Reds took the rubber match to open the second half of the season.

Burke, who starred at Evergreen High School before being selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the third round of the 2014 draft, leads the National League in appearances (49) this season while allowing a hit or fewer in 42 of those outings. He threw a total of 20 pitches in two appearances against the Rockies, throwing 11 pitches and giving up one hit in the Reds’ 7-2 win on Friday. He induced two fly balls and a groundout in Sunday’s win.

For Burke and Reds relievers Pierce Johnson and Julian Garcia, the three-game series at Coors Field was a homecoming of sorts for all three former high school stars from the Centennial State.

It also underscored that pitchers who excel here can make it anywhere.

“You just battle adversity and learn how to pitch,” Burke said. “Your stuff doesn’t move … You kind of have to be perfect here to get the ball to move. It just teaches you to be very good in your mechanics. And the way you throw the ball.”

Garcia, who pitched for Metro State just minutes down the road, saw countless games at Coors Field growing up, but he had never been on the field as a player until Friday. His decade-long odyssey from Division II baseball to making his big-league debut with the Reds last month, at 31, after stints in independent ball and the Puerto Rican Winter League, would make for a great screenplay.

But it wasn’t until Saturday, when he gave up two hits in a little more than two innings of work in a 10-3 Rockies’ win, that Garcia fully comprehended just how hard it is to pitch in Colorado. That����ap when he got the breakdown of the 32 pitches he threw against the Rockies.

“In all those years I was at Metro, we didn’t have the TrackMan. We didn’t have the Rapsodo stuff or the reports to see all the movement profiles and stuff like that,” said Garcia, who starred at Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins. “Now, seeing it, and seeing your fastball, like in Cincinnati, or on the East Coast, where it����ap like 18-20 inches of vertical and then it����ap like yesterday, you’re looking at the board, and it����ap like 13 or 14 inches, it����ap crazy. There’s really no jump.”

Living pitch to pitch

Burke and Johnson, unlike Garcia, entered the weekend with plenty of experience on the mound at Coors Field. Johnson spent the first half of the 2023 season with the Rockies before being dealt to the Braves.

The right-hander, who starred at Faith Christian High School, put up his worst career numbers in Colorado, where he started the year as a closer with 13 saves. He was 1-5 with a 6.00 ERA in 43 games for the Rockies.

Burke was still a teenager at 19 when he signed with the Rays after being picked in the 2014 draft — the same year the Rockies selected Kyle Freeland, another homegrown star. One of the things that certainly got the attention of big-league scouts when Burke was in high school was a 20-strikeout outing against Eaglecrest at Coors Field.

The scorecard might say 19 K’s, but Burke insisted it was 20 — the result of a dropped third strike that the scorekeeper for MaxPreps missed. He remembers it just like yesterday, explaining that the Coors Field grounds crew wouldn’t let the high schoolers warm up in the bullpen, so he just walked into the game cold.

“I think I walked the first three guys and then struck out the next three,” he said, with a laugh. “That was the first time I touched the mound that day. No warmup.”

His success this season has been the result of going back to his roots as a pitcher. He’s been a name that has frequently surfaced in trade deadline chatter, given the market for left-handers and the Reds bringing up the rear in the NL Central race, 17 games back of the Brewers.

“I pitch kind of weird, and I think throughout my career, people have tried to change me,” Burke said. “Kinda me just getting back to my roots. Kind of just moving how I move and doing how I do. Just trying to think about competing every pitch and not worrying about how I’m moving or how I’m doing certain things. Kind of just live, pitch by pitch, and game by game.”

‘I wouldn’t want it any other way’

Garcia has been living by the same code, not letting himself get too high or too low about finally making it to The Show at 31 after years of coming so close.

He had an array of family members and friends attend all three games at Coors, and he relished the time at home during the All-Star break.

“It����ap been crazy. I don’t really have any words to describe it,” he said. “It����ap been a cool journey, and I’ve told everybody I wouldn’t want it any other way. Kinda had to work for it, but it����ap been everything I’d imagined. No words to describe it.”

He dealt with some nerves entering the series only because he didn’t want to get out on the mound and not perform for all of those who’d come out to see him.

“Just the build-up of it all,” he said. “I just tried to relax and see family and enjoy it, but it was like, OK, I’m pitching in front of all my friends and family. It����ap kind of like, I don’t wanna go out there and make an idiot of myself. I want to prove that I’m good. I’m supposed to be here. And make them even more proud.”

Since making the jump to the big leagues on June 23, Garcia ranks tied for fifth among all National League relief pitchers with 13 strikeouts. He is the second Reds pitcher since 1900 with more than 13 strikeouts and no more than five hits allowed through his first eight career games.

There were plenty of times over the last decade when he seriously considered walking away from baseball, especially after the Phillies — who’d drafted him in 2016 — released him in 2023. But he always came back to the one thing he had wanted to accomplish since elementary school.

“That (2023) year, I was mentally checked out from baseball,” he said. “Baseball just wasn’t treating me very well and I wasn’t in love with the game anymore. But it����ap what I set out to do. I show pictures to my girlfriend all the time when I was a young kid, and you’re in elementary school, they’re like, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ I wanted to be a professional baseball player.

“… I didn’t want to give up. But there were times when it was like, this is tough. This is hard. I don’t know what I’m going to do; I need to provide for my family. I need to grow up.”

The game of baseball works in mysterious ways. After making it back to affiliated baseball and working his way through the minors, Garcia has run down the dream he’s been chasing since he was a young fireballer growing up in northern Colorado.

He doesn’t have to grow up just yet.

“Baseball, I knew I was good at it,” he said. “There’s nothing like it. I’ve been so close. Like, I was in Triple-A; I’ve been around guys, and I was like, OK, I’m as good as them, if not better. And I can get there. It was just putting my head down and trying to get back to here.”

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Tyler Stephenson went deep twice, Hunter Greene struck out seven over six innings and the Cincinnati Reds weathered a three-homer afternoon from Hunter Goodman to beat 9-6 on Sunday.

It was the third career multi-homer game for Stephenson — two of them against the Rockies. He also had a double. The Reds’ catcher is batting .357 in 23 games versus Colorado, with nine homers, 17 RBIs and nine doubles.

Goodman’s big day included two homers off Greene — a solo shot in the first and a two-run blast in the sixth — along with another two-run shot off reliever Sam Moll in the eighth to make it 9-5. He also hit three homers at . The All-Star catcher is the first Rockies players to notch two three-homer games in the same season.

The Reds’ offense heated up quick on a sweltering afternoon (98 degrees Fahrenheit, 37 Celsius) at Coors Field. Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-out, three-run homer off Ryan Feltner (3-4) in the first and Stephenson soon followed with a two-run shot.

They made it 8-1 in the second on a three-run homer from Sal Stewart.

Greene (2-1) allowed three runs in his third start since returning from the injured list on July 4. He was sidelined after undergoing surgery in March to remove bone chips from his right elbow.

Colorado rallied in the ninth as Willi Castro led off the inning with a homer off Emilio Pagán. After a single from Kyle Karros, Pagán struck out two and got Edouard Julien to pop out in foul territory to end the game as the Reds took two of three in the series.

Up next

Reds: Kick off a three-game set in Seattle on Monday. Lefty Andrew Abbott (5-5, 4.11) will take the mound for the Reds.

Rockies: Start a three-game series Monday against Washington. The Rockies are slated to send lefty Kyle Freeland (2-8, 7.36) to the mound.

Sean Keeler: Did Rick Blaine Did Sam and Jonah Baldwin deserve Annie? Did Will Thacker deserve Anna Scott? Dang right, they did. It never ceases to amaze me the degree to which Major League Baseball will chase the cute at the expense of the obvious. Goodman is a tater factory on two legs and has no business being snubbed for this event. I mean, Jac Caglianone (15 HR)? Bryce Harper (20 HR)? Hey, we get it — Colorado is the Siberia of MLB, especially to the power brokers on both coasts. But is the derby about rewarding the best at their craft? Or is it about selling Netflix subscriptions? I think we already know the answer to that last one, my friend.

Renck: The Rockies remaining invisible nationally is not a new story. They are the only team in the Mountain time zone, often viewed as a flyover franchise except on those occasions when Coors Field plays without gravity, and the teams combine for 25 runs and 30 hits. Naively, I thought that Larry Walker and Todd Helton entering the Hall of Fame would dull some of the bias, but those were reprieves, not trends. We are right back in 2007, when Matt Holliday was robbed of the MVP trophy and Troy Tulowitzki lost Rookie of the Year to Ryan Braun. Goodman should have been in the derby. He had his dad lined up to throw to him. He wanted to do it. He hits lasers and moonshots. He was dealing with a wrist injury over the last week, but it would not have prevented his participation. At the end of the day, he got hosed because God forbid the competition didn’t include two Phillies — Kyle Schwarber deserves it, Bryce Harper not so much — and a Yankee (Ben Rice).

Keeler:  I can buy the argument for Rice (29 jacks). And the White Sox aren’t giving Rockies fans hope right now, if not for Mune Murakami (20 HR in 60 games) absolutely exploding out of the gate. But stacking the competition with a pair of hometown Phils at the top feels like half a cheesesteak bridge too far, dude. Yeah, sure, I get it — you cater to the locals when it’s an exhibition. But you’d sell that bad boy out (I’ve seen Day take swings up close, by the way. Dude rakes.)

Renck: Here is what really irks me. For those who want big names like Schwarber, Harper and Rice because they play for high-profile teams, whatever. I don’t like it. But I get it when Netflix wanted to turn this into a miniseries with a side of drama. That does not explain taking Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone and the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker. I wanted the Rockies to draft Caglianone. I have no issue with the player, but his 15 home runs match Mickey Moniak’s. He is going because he puts on a show in batting practice. As for Walker, he was this close to starting the year in Triple-A. His rebound is a nice story. But is it really better than a catcher with 27 bombs at the break? The answer is no. Full stop. Whoever excluded Goodman needs to be Johnny Benched.

Keeler: For Goodman to swing more national love going forward, there are probably only two sure-fire ways to land it. One, the Rockies need to get on about 17 heaters in the second half and join the NL Wild Card race — only 13.5 games out with 64 games to go, baby!. Or two, and this is more likely, Hunter needs to go full Cal Raleigh from here on out. He’s hit 22 of those 27 dingers as a catcher. Want to move the needle? Move Javy to No. 2.

SAN FRANCISCO — Rafael Devers scored the tiebreaking run in a two-run eighth inning when catcher Hunter Goodman threw wildly into center field on a stolen-base attempt, and the San Francisco Giants overcame Jake McCarthy’s second leadoff inside-the-park home run this season to beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-1, Sunday.

San Francisco won three of four in the series and entered the All-Star break fourth in the NL West at 41-55. The Giants have won 21 of their past 23 home games against Colorado and are 36-7 in San Francisco against the Rockies since 2021.

Colorado has lost four of five and is a National League-worst 39-59. The Rockies are 17-34 on the road.

McCarthy, who had an at Coors Field on June 20, drove Trevor McDonald’s second pitch of the game on a bounce to the 415-foot sign in right-center field. The ball bounced away from right fielder Jung Hoo Lee and McCarthy slid home ahead of an off-line relay throw from second baseman Luis Arraez for his 10th home run this season.

McCarthy became the first player to record multiple leadoff inside-the-park home runs in a single season since Giants center fielder Edd Roush did it in 1929.

SECOND INSIDE-THE-PARK HR THIS YEAR!

…and we're still in the first half

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies)

Drew Gilbert����ap RBI single tied the score in the fourth.

Devers led off the eighth with a walk against Antonio Senzatela (9-2) and took third on Bryce Eldridge’s one-out single. Grant McCray pinch ran for Eldridge and broke for second on the first pitch to Willy Adames. Goodman’s throw bounced into center as McCray took third and Adames singled for a two-run lead.

Erik Miller (2-0) struck out Mickey Moniak to strand a runner at second in the eighth, then worked around Goodman’s single in the ninth.

McDonald allowed three hits in seven innings after giving up eight runs and 11 hits over 2 1/3 innings in a on Tuesday.

Up next

Rockies: Host Cincinnati on Friday night.

Giants: Open the second half at Seattle on Friday.

The Denver Post contributed to this story.

LOS ANGELES — Dalton Rushing singled in the winning run against a drawn-in infield in the 11th inning, rallying the Dodgers to an 8-7 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night in Los Angeles’ first extra-innings game of the season.

The Dodgers improved to 60-32, the first team in the majors this season with 60 wins. They were the only team in the majors not to have played extras. It was also their first extra-inning game since Game 7 of last year’s World Series, when they beat Toronto for their second straight championship.

Teoscar Hernández started the bottom of the 11th at second base. Max Muncy was intentionally walked by Jimmy Herget (0-3). Pinch-hitter Tommy Edman’s sacrifice bunt moved Hernández to third and he scored on Rushing’s third hit of the game.

The Dodgers tied the game 7-7 in the 10th. Andy Pages started the inning at second and took third on Freddie Freeman’s groundout to first against Brennan Bernardino. Pages scored on second baseman Edouard Julien’s fielding error of Mookie Betts. Betts took second on Tucker’s single before Hernández lined into an inning-ending double play, with Tucker doubled off first.

Jake McCarthy’s groundout to first base gave the Rockies a 7-6 lead in the 10th.

Cole Carrigg began the inning at second base and took third on Tyler Freeman’s sacrifice bunt off Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez (3-0). McCarthy grounded to first and Freddie Freeman stepped on the bag and fired to the plate, where Carrigg scored under the tag of Rushing.

There appeared to be heated words exchanged. Both dugouts emptied and both bullpens came part of the way onto the field. Muncy ran in to move Rushing away from the mound before calm was restored.

The Rockies tied the game 6-all in the ninth. Kyle Karros had an RBI double off Dodgers closer Tanner Scott. Carrigg’s two-run double to deep center with the bases loaded scored the tying runs. Hunter Goodman was also called safe at the plate, which would have been the go-ahead run, but the Dodgers challenged the call.

They got the call overturned and then Rockies challenged a different aspect of the play, claiming Rushing had violated the blocking the plate rule. But Colorado lost the challenge, forcing extra innings tied 6-6.

Shohei Ohtani drove in four runs, highlighted by his 299th career homer.

Up next

Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (3-9, 6.91 ERA) starts Tuesday against Dodgers RHP Justin Wrobleski (10-2, 2.80).

This story has been corrected to say that Hunter Goodman scored the Rockies’ run in the ninth inning that was overturned to an out call, not Brett Sullivan.