Thankful for the bad: Doyle finishes a dominant July

ANAHEIM -- The explosion of the bat served as Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle's closing argument for National League Player of the Month honors.

Doyle’s 431-foot home run off Angels reliever Hans Crouse in the eighth inning, gave the Rockies a 2-1 victory over the Angels on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium.

It was Doyle’s 11th July home run, and the hit put him at .333 (30-for-90) with 19 extra-base hits and 27 RBIs in 25 games. Doyle’s extra-base hits topped all players for the month, and his homer total was tied with the A's Brent Rooker.

“Accolades are great,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “Love to see him get Player of the Month. He’s deserving.”

The homer made a winner of Kyle Freeland (3-4), who struck out six and held the Angels to one run on six hits in seven innings. It was Freeland’s sixth quality start in seven games since returning from a left elbow strain that cost him two months.

Doyle is feeling better, as well.

As the Rockies were absorbing the final loss of a four-game sweep in San Francisco on Sunday, Doyle sustained a bruised right index finger when he hit it against the training kit in the dugout while slamming a towel in frustration. But Doyle pinch-hit in Tuesday’s 8-7 loss to the Angels and had the big swing Wednesday on a 3-1 slider from Crouse.

Doyle had never faced Crouse in a regular-season game, but homework paid off.

“I know that guy is kind of slider-heavy,” Doyle said during the Rockies.TV postseason interview. I wasn’t sitting slider, but I also wasn’t not sitting slider. I just wanted to get something elevated, something I could handle. I put a good swing on it.”

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar's first-inning single extended his hit streak to 17 games, the longest active streak in the Majors. He later scored on Kris Bryant's single.

Doyle and Tovar were rookies last season. They and another rookie from last season, Michael Toglia, are tied for the team lead in homers with 18. The switch-hitting Toglia is gaining on some approach adjustments designed to make him more consistent. Doyle, at .272 with a .813 OPS, and Tovar, at .290 with a .805 OPS, are key members of a developing lineup.

“The peaks and valleys, we’ve talked about,” Black said. “Those two guys are a big part of our future. How they handle that is they’re consistent, they don’t wobble, they hang in there. It’s a great sign of stability and self-confidence. You’ve just got to keep going, keep the faith that your talent is going to get out out of it.”

Freeland didn’t have his signature glove-side (inside to right-handed batters) in his last start, but he found it on video and carried it into Wednesday. Doyle rewarded Freeland with a homer after his final pitch of the evening.

against the Angels. Relievers Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik (four saves) shut down the Angels and allowed everyone to celebrate Doyle’s month.

“It’s incredible,” Freeland said. “Him coming up in the clutch right there is absolutely amazing. How it won us the ballgame tonight.

“I absolutely love his defense, and his offense has turned the extreme corner from last year to this year.”

Doyle won the National League Gold Glove in center field last year, then set about improving his hitting. But hitting is elusive, unlike defense, which can be present every day.

Before the calendar flipped to July, Doyle went 5-for-46 in his last 10 June games. But he didn’t waver from setup adjustments, which served him well early in the season.

Also, as hitting coach Hensley Meulens pointed out early in the season, Doyle has landed on the right amount of effort without overkill. For the lore that comes with players who hit until the batting machine can’t take it anymore, there is a danger of finding a swing and then swinging yourself back into old habits.

Put simply, Doyle trusts his offensive foundation. It took work to recapture the swing when he slumped, but July proved he found the path.

“Those lows in the season are what open your eyes and tell you, ‘Hey, you need to start working on something,’” Doyle said. “I’m thankful that the [bad] streak happened. If it didn’t, maybe I wouldn’t be where I am today.”