A week ago, Trevor Story was trying, not very successfully, to tune out all of the noise surrounding the trade deadline.
Thursday afternoon at Coors Field, Story was laser-focused on baseball. The Cubs paid the price.
The Rockies’ all-star shortstop hit two home runs and drove in three runs in a 6-5 victory as Colorado clinched the three-game series.
“I think I’m in the right mode,” said Story, who homered at Coors Field for the first time since July 1. “It’s a lot easier to do it now that those (trade rumors) have passed. That’s what it’s all about for me … just playing this game. Because I enjoy it. That’s when I’m at my best.”
Story, who’s hit 15 home runs this season, extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games. Thursday marked the 17th time in his career that he slugged two homers in a game. His 17 career multi-home run games as a shortstop are the fourth-most in the expansion era (since 1961) behind Alex Rodriguez (31), Cal Ripken Jr. and Nomar Garciaparra (18 each).
Still, Story, who’s hitting just .247, has run hot and cold, but manager Bud Black is hopeful Story is about to hit his stride.
“He’s been just a little bit off this year, as we know, but games like today can get a guy going,” Black said. “We’ve said that a couple of different times, but that homer to right was smoked and that homer to left was clicked pretty good.”
Story believes he’s about to break out.
“I feel good about it and I feel really solid in the box and I’m taking care of pitches I want to take care of,” he said.
The shortstop wasn’t the only one invited to the Coors Field home run party. Connor Joe, who started at first base, led off the second inning with a solo homer off Cubs starter Jake Arrietta, Joe’s third of the season.
Sam Hilliard, who started in right field on a day when veteran Charlie Blackmon got a breather, led off the fourth with a blast that rocketed 465 feet into the second deck in right field, the longest homer of Hilliard’s career.
“For me, it’s a matter of realizing not to try and do too much, and not trying to generate the power,” said Hilliard, who hammered Arrieta’s 1-2, hanging curveball. “Let the pitcher do it. You know, that was a curveball. It’s not like it was a really hard pitch. And it was a two-strike count, but I wasn’t swinging hard. It’s just a matter of connecting. Hit the ball out front — like I did. When I do that, the ball jumps.”
Since returning from the all-star break, the Rockies have hit 28 home runs in 18 games. More encouraging, they’ve launched 18 homers in their last 10 road games. That’s a significant power surge for a team that only a short time ago was on pace to hit the second-fewest homers in franchise history.
Right-hander Antonio Senzatela, making his first big-league start since returning from the COVID injured list, dominated the Cubs for four innings, yielding no runs and only two hits. He fanned six — all in succession — in the third and fourth innings.
But the right-hander crash-landed in the fifth when the Cubs tied the game with four runs on five hits. The big blows were Wilson Contreras’ two-run double off the fence in right-center, followed by Ian Happ’s RBI single to left.
Chicago trimmed the Rockies’ lead to 6-5 in the sixth off right-hander Tyler Kinley. Colorado native David Bote ripped a double off Kinley to open the inning and scored on Frank Schwindel’s bloop single.
But Colorado tied down the victory when Jhoulys Chacin, Carlos Estevez and Daniel Bard combined to pitch four scoreless innings, with Bard setting Chicago down in order in the ninth to record his 17th save.
The Rockies open a three-game series against Miami on Friday at Coors Field.
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August 06, 2021 at 05:44AM
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