'Aggressive' Rodgers homers in Rox win

ANAHEIM -- Rookie Brendan Rodgers’ power swings the last two nights are indications that he wants to identify with -- maybe wrap himself in -- the second spot in the Rockies’ batting order.

Rodgers’ home run to dead-center field off José Suarez in the third inning of Tuesday night’s 12-3 victory over the Angels was every bit like his homer the previous night, which he drove to right-center.

The Rockies have batted Rodgers second in his last seven starts, and he has hits in six of them. The last four of those starts have yielded five hits, including two homers and a triple. Part of two-hole hitting is protecting a speedy leadoff man, and the Rox have one in Raimel Tapia.

Rodgers spoke from the dugout -- before his 2-for-5 performance with a walk and a strikeout -- about the meshing of his lineup spot and his gap-to-gap swing.

“I really like hitting second -- it allows me to still be aggressive but still be able to get on base,” said Rodgers, whose homer on Monday came off Angels left-hander José Quintana. “Controlled aggression -- that's what I like to think in the box. It’s doing damage but not getting not over-aggressive.

“I know I can hit the ball out to any part of the field. If I over-swing, that’s when the rollovers [grounders to the third-base side] and stuff like that come out. It’s really just staying within myself.”

More nights like Tuesday, which also included Sam Hilliard’s three-run, pinch-hit homer, and road wins won’t feel like out-of-body experiences. The Rockies are just 11-37 away from Coors Field. However, they are a far more respectable 4-4 in their last eight, with wins over two National League West contenders (Padres, Dodgers) and a team with legitimate American League Wild Card hopes (Angels).

Subtly, the Rockies are building their hope chest for when they are ready to return to the levels of 2017 and 2018, when they made the only consecutive postseason trips in their history.

In the middle of Tuesday’s blowout, they pulled C.J. Cron, who sustained a slight groin strain that the Rockies hope doesn’t send him to the injured list, Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon -- tipping off the predictable speculation with the fast approach of Friday’s Trade Deadline.

But earlier in the day, the team released veteran rarely used first baseman Matt Adams and called up Rio Ruiz, who had trials with the Braves and Orioles but is still considered a young utility type in a future-geared move.

The Rockies’ pitching present is solid. Lefty Austin Gomber had long gaps in activity -- partly because of the DH in an AL park, partly because of the Rockies’ strong offense and largely because Suarez was molasses deliberate between pitches (he had a 2.85 ERA before the game). Yet, Gomber found the sharpness for seven strikeouts over six innings. Shohei Ohtani’s two-run homer in the fifth was the only hurtful swing.

Rodgers hitting No. 2 was one of the first moves foreshadowing the team’s future. Manager Bud Black likes a guy who can make contact, run a little, and has home run pop. Garrett Hampson, who batted ninth Tuesday, and Yonathan Daza, who has missed the last 10 games under MLB COVID-19 and contact tracing protocols, have shown bat control, but lack a power dimension.

Rodgers, who didn’t play until May 21 because of a right hamstring strain he sustained in Spring Training, has seven homers in his last 37 games, including 32 starts.

As an example of what the Rockies like in the second spot, Story has batted there the most in his career -- 204 starts with a .288/.353/.560 slash line.

Years back, DJ LeMahieu provided doubles power from the 2-hole -- and it took a move away from the big grounds and high right-center fence at Coors Field to Yankee Stadium to reveal his power.

So Rodgers is receiving his shot to provide a versatile right-handed bat behind Tapia and ahead of run producers.

“The Angels have Ohtani hitting second and he has 36 home runs,” Black said. “We need good offensive players at the top of the order, whether it's the leadoff guy or whoever is second, third, fourth. Brendan is in a good spot with the swing.”

Blacks strategy leaves Rodgers feeling encouraged to do all that he loves.

“I'm always trying to drive the ball,” Rodgers said. “I'm not really trying to filet the ball to right field. I’m trying to drive it.

“Sometimes with two strikes, you gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done. Now when ‘Tap’ is on, he loves to steal second and that’s huge. I might take a strike to allow him to get to second because he’s pretty successful at base-stealing. But I like thinking like left-center to right-center -- keep my eyes focused in the gaps and up the middle.”