McMahon powers Rockies to second-straight win over Padres
Jun 16, 2021, 6:36 AM
Ryan McMahon missed hitting for the cycle by only a matter of feet. But his 3-for-3, four-RBI night — punctuated by a triple and his 16th home run of the season — was more than enough to complete a comeback against the Padres that turned into a blowout, 8-4 win for the Rockies.
“Mac realized that if he can cut his strikeouts down and put the ball in play, he’s got a swing that can generate some power,” manager Bud Black said. “You saw that tonight.”
McMahon’s breakout season has made him an All-Star candidate at either second or third base, and he’s been the Rockies’ best player all season long. His wins-above-replacement (WAR) of 2.2 is more than double the two men tied for second place among batters — Yonathan Daza and Joshua Fuentes each have 1.0.
McMahon’s last five games have seen him turn up the power. He’s hit three home runs, a double and a triple in that span.
“I’ve been choking up (on the bat) a little bit,” McMahon explained. “When you shorten up and take that good, short swing to the ball, it’s going to pay off more often than not.”
The double that eluded McMahon on Tuesday didn’t do so by much. His screaming liner to the gap in left center was snared by Padres center fielder Trent Grisham, who didn’t have time to cut down the speedy Raimel Tapia at the plate in the seventh.
That ball, recorded at 104.9 miles per hour off the bat, matched the speed of his sixth-inning home run. Had it dropped, McMahon would have likely completed only the 19th cycle in Rockies history, but another impressive win against the dangerous Padres will still do nicely… not that McMahon wasn’t thinking about it anyway.
“I’d be lying if I wasn’t sitting in the dugout saying, ‘Five more feet left, and I’d have probably gotten a double.'”
***
NEXT UP: Rockies (27-41, 4th in NL West) vs. Padres (38-31, 3rd in NL West) | Wednesday, Jun. 16 at 1:10 p.m. | COL: Kyle Freeland (0-2, 9.00 ERA) vs. SD: Blake Snell (2-3, 4.97 ERA).
***
NOTES
• Garrett Hampson hit a pinch-hit triple to raise his batting average to .375 (3-for-8) as a pinch hitter this season. All his pinch-hits are of the extra-base variety; a home run, and double, and Tuesday’s three-bagger. Hampson is now hitting .348 (23-for-66) against lefties this season.
• Charlie Blackmon’s 13-game hitting streak came to an end after going 0-for-4 on Tuesday. During the streak, Blackmon raised his average from .237 to .282 while hitting 20-for-46 (.435).
• The Rockies’ bullpen trio of Carlos Estevez, Michael Givens and Daniel Bard held the Padres scoreless for the final three innings of Tuesday’s game. Estevez allowed no hits and walked one while striking out one in the seventh on the way to earning his first win of the season. Givens allowed one hit in the eighth, but struck out two batters and earned a hold. Bard finished things off with a perfect ninth to finish things off in a non-save opportunity.
***
THE FINAL WORD
“If you can handle the barrel of the bat and manipulate it by choking up a little bit, good things will happen. Mac’s learning.” — Manager Bud Black, on Ryan McMahon, who now ranks fourth in the National League with 16 home runs
***
STARTING LINEUP
LF Raimel Tapia
CF Yonathan Daza
RF Charlie Blackmon
SS Trevor Story
3B Ryan McMahon
2B Brendan Rodgers
1B C.J. Cron
C Dom Nunez
SP Chi Chi Gonzalez
***
INJURY WATCH
• Jon Gray (strained right forearm) left his Jun. 4 start and was placed on the 10-day IL. A subsequent MRI showed no significant damage, manger Bud Black said that Gray would start playing catch on Jun. 17.
• Chris Owings (left thumb surgery) was placed on the 60-day IL in mid-April and will likely be out until the All-Star break. He started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque on Jun. 14.
• Matt Adams (right elbow soreness) was injured during the Jun. 8 game and was placed on the 10-day IL on Jun. 9.
• Jordan Sheffield (torn right lat) was injured on Jun. 3 and was placed on the 10-day IL. He is expected to miss at least two months.
• Ben Bowden (strained left shoulder) was placed on the 10-day IL on May 16. He was removed from the list and optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on Jun. 1.
• Scott Oberg (blood clots) had surgery prior to the end of Spring Training. He was placed on the 60-day IL on Mar. 27 and his season is in doubt.
***
Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan
