Schunk cranks first big league homer as Rox roll

DENVER -- Leaning on the back of the batting cage, Rockies manager Bud Black and bench coach Mike Redmond felt that it would be a good night to start sporadically used rookie Aaron Schunk.

That was the plan, regardless, with second baseman Brendan Rodgers planned for a day off. But Schunk’s swing rhythm seemed right -- always a challenge for a backup infielder on a team whose infield posts up and plays with noted quality.

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“Red and I were talking about a little bit of that sneaky pull pop in BP,” Black said after Schunk sparked the Rockies to an 8-2 victory over the Marlins on Wednesday night at Coors Field.

Schunk crushed his first Major League home run -- a 429-foot solo drive in the fifth inning to give the Rockies a lead they never lost. Schunk also walked and singled while going 2-for-3 for his third multihit game in 26 appearances.

The premonitions of Black and Redmond were cool. More important, Schunk -- selected from Triple-A Albuquerque on June 29 -- also felt something special was in his bat.

“I’ve always had a line-drive doubles swing,” Schunk said. “But when I get ’em, I get ’em.

“So just working hard early, off the machine, I ended up getting a ball that I got earlier in the day, and I put a good swing on it.”

If that’s the case, Schunk was especially prepared for the first-pitch homer off Meyer.

“It was a missed location,” Meyer said. “It was like two balls inside, and obviously he’s hunting a fastball, so I tip my cap.”

Gaining a rhythm with so little playing time is difficult. Schunk, a second-round pick out of the University of Georgia in the 2019 MLB Draft, received his chance after the Rockies moved away from Alan Trejo. (Trejo is now in Triple-A with the Dodgers after previously dealing with the same difficulties of hitting with scant opportunity.)

“We have some really good guys that I’ve learned a lot from,” Schunk said. “Charlie Blackmon being in the DH role has been a really good guy to lean on, and Jake Cave is my locker buddy. He’s got a lot of wisdom for me.

“A lot of guys have been in this role -- [Ryan McMahon] was when he came up.”

Funny, though. The guys who have talked to him all along ignored him -- the traditional rookie silent treatment -- when he returned to the dugout after the homer.

Ryan Spilborghs, a fan favorite as an outfielder for the club during his career, who is situated in a camera well beside the team’s dugout, shrugged and turned away when Schunk offered his hand his way.

Finally, hitting coach Hensley Meulens crowned him with the team’s home run ski helmet, and the teammates broke the charade and celebrated Schunk opening his home run account.

It was a first for Schunk, but he can look to winning pitcher Kyle Freeland to see that all accolades are special. Freeland, 31, held the Marlins to two runs on six hits in six innings and hit several milestones:

• 200 games pitched
• 1,069 1/3 innings to pass Jeff Francis for third in club history
• 802 strikeouts to become the fourth pitcher to collect 800 with the Rockies
• 59 wins to surpass Jason Jennings for fifth on the club list