Cron's breakout helps Rox turn tide at Coors

DENVER -- Rockies fans, do you think the start to the season -- absent of many runs, home runs and wins at home -- has been maddening and weird?

C.J. Cron is right there with you.

Cron was key to making Sunday afternoon seem like, well, the last 30 years. He popped a three-run homer, singled in a run and doubled as the Rockies beat the D-backs, 12-4, to avoid being swept at Coors Field.

Before Colorado (9-20) snapped its seven-game home losing streak, Cron’s prolonged rut mirrored his team’s. Between going 7-for-11 in the Rockies’ first three games and 3-for-5 on Sunday, Cron was 14-for-83 (.169) with four extra-base hits in 21 games.

“Seems like we haven’t hit our stride in any aspect this year,” said Cron, who even with his difficulties leads the team with six home runs. “Obviously, it wasn't the month we wanted [with a franchise-record 20 losses in April], that's for sure. So hopefully going into the off-day, this one will calm us down a little bit, give us a little bit of confidence, a little bit of momentum, and hopefully we start to play better baseball once that happens.”

Sunday featured six innings of one-run ball from lefty Austin Gomber, who has found his fastball velocity, his curve and some mojo after carrying unneeded pressure having joined the Rockies in the Nolan Arenado trade.

Maybe now Cron can make like Gomber and not take his worries onto the field.

Cron signed with Colorado in 2021, and he carried the offense in the first half of last season. His .298/.350/.552 slash line with 21 homers earned him his first All-Star Game invite as the only Rockies player. But his .197/.263/.341 slash line with eight homers in the second half was partly a function of trying to carry a team that sank to last in the National League West.

There was speculation that Cron, who is under a club-friendly contract paying him $7.25 million this year, could be dealt at last year’s Trade Deadline to accelerate a turnover to youth. But with his post-All-Star break numbers, contending clubs weren’t going to offer up talent. Of course, the Rockies are fine with seeing if Cron is part of the solution in Denver.

“You can try to carry the whole thing on your shoulders,” manager Bud Black said. “And C.J., which is admirable, has tried to do that at times over the last couple of years. Knowing his responsibility, knowing his place on this team, his own self-confidence and what he’s capable of, sometimes he shoulders it.”

The poor play at Coors Field can’t be placed entirely on Cron’s shoulders. The Rockies have been outscored, 100-62, and outhomered, 19-11, while going 4-9 at 20th & Blake.

Sunday ended a franchise-record streak of 51 games without scoring more than seven runs. Colorado’s longest prior streak was 37 games, from April 7 to May 21, 2015.

“I've become accustomed to this kind of game here,” said Gomber, who over his last two starts has lowered his ERA from an unsightly 12.12 to 7.57 -- undesirable, but trending toward beauty. “We haven’t done that this year, kind of blow somebody out. I think that that's something that we usually do at least once a homestand, go boatrace somebody.”

Cron piloted the smooth-sailing Rockies on Sunday.

Randal Grichuk doubled twice in his second game after missing the start of the season with bilateral sports hernia surgery. Charlie Blackmon scored his 893rd run to move past Larry Walker into sole possession of second place in team history behind Todd Helton (1,401 runs). Blackmon, Harold Castro -- for whom Black must find infield time with a crowded outfield -- and Ezequiel Tovar -- finding a groove after a slow start to his rookie year -- added RBI doubles.

Cron can be streaky, which is a good description to hang onto after a performance like Sunday.

“I try to stay calm, but obviously as a competitor, you want to turn it around as fast as possible,” Cron said. “But sometimes you try too hard and start spiraling out of control. I try to keep my same mentality and same approach consistent. It's never nice to go on a slump, or long slumps, so hopefully we can not fall back into that."