Doyle's three-bagger a bright spot on tough night

SAN FRANCISCO -- Brenton Doyle interrupted the Rockies’ downer of an 11-4 loss to the Giants on Friday night with an eighth-inning two-run triple to remind everyone that this is his July, and the rest of us are living in it.

Doyle’s triple gave the Rockies a much-needed highlight. Before that point, Friday had been a forgettable one for Doyle (three hitless at-bats and a strikeout) and lefty pitcher Kyle Freeland (six runs and eight hits in four innings, after a 1.95 ERA over his previous five starts), whose fastball went missing.

But with the triple, Doyle added more July magic.

“He continues to continue to shine,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He had a couple near misses in the outfield, too -- diving, just couldn't come up with a couple plays. But he had a good at-bat there at the end.”

This month, the Rockies are 10-11 -- not exactly contending stuff, but just their second month with double-digit wins. And Doyle’s bat is helping make winning baseball possible.

In his 20 appearances since July 1, Doyle is batting .373 (28-for-75) with 17 extra-base hits that include 10 home runs, plus 26 RBIs. Doyle also joined Larry Walker (1997, '99), Todd Helton (2001) and Matt Holliday ('07) as the only Rockies with a 20-game span with at least 28 hits, 17 extra-base hits, 10 or more home runs, 26 or more RBIs, nine or more walks and at least one stolen base.

So this month, and for much of this season, Doyle has been, if not an all-timer, at least a guy who can lead the team to better times.

Doyle, 26 and in his second Major League season, doesn’t have time to admire his month.

“I’ve never really been a big numbers guy, and I’m not keeping up with my stats,” Doyle said. “Offensively, my goal is just to keep the same feel I have right now and keep it going into the next month.”

No one on the Rockies has had much feel for Giants lefty starter Kyle Harrison. At Coors Field on May 7, Harrison pitched a career-high seven scoreless frames. The Rockies literally did one better on Friday, as in one run in 6 2/3 innings. The lone run off Harrison came on Ezequiel Tovar’s deep sacrifice fly to center.

“His fastball, even when you know it’s coming, is tough to get on, and he was throwing good pitches in two spots all night,” Doyle said. “He’s typically a fastball-heavy guy, and that gets you off his secondary pitches a little more -- makes them even better pitches.”

A subtle but noticeable trait of Doyle’s this season is staying attentive at a time when focus can wane. On the plus side, Doyle powered his first career grand slam on Wednesday, when the Rockies’ 20-7 victory over the Red Sox at Coors was well decided.

“You never want to give away at-bats, especially late in the game,” Doyle said. “That can enter into the next days. Anytime you’re in the box, you’ve got to act like it’s a close game. You’ve got to put together good at-bats.”