Díaz ends drought as Rox rally in grand fashion

DENVER -- Not even the stodgiest of old-school enforcers could blame Rockies catcher Elias Díaz for standing near home plate and watching the ball sail over the center-field wall.

You don’t “act like you’ve done it before,” as traditionalists say, when you’re greeting an old friend.

Díaz’s eighth-inning blast, which gave the Rockies a 7-4 victory over the Angels at Coors Field on Friday night, was the club’s first slam since Díaz did it on Sept. 10, 2021.

That was a club-record 258 games ago.

Díaz wasn’t sure how to describe seeing the blast that snapped the Rockies’ eight-game skid.

“A lot of emotion … lot of emotion,” said Díaz, who had changed out of his uniform but still wore a gleeful smile. “I don’t have words to describe it. I feel so excited about it.”

A sellout crowd of 47,085 was on hand to see Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout as the pair belted consecutive homers off Kyle Freeland -- who took the mound sick for his second straight start.

But Díaz’s bonus shot in the eighth, off Chris Devenski with one out, elicited happiness from home fans.

“In the sixth inning, I had three men on base and I rolled over,” Díaz said of his grounder that left the Rockies’ deficit at 4-3. “So I told myself, ‘OK, now I got a second opportunity.’”

We can get all cynical about this and point out that the Rockies, Coors Field and home run droughts of any kind make no sense. Not only was it Colorado’s first slam since Díaz did it against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, but it was the club’s first at Coors Field since Charlie Blackmon’s on Sept. 7, 2021.

The Rockies finished the ‘21 season with a club-record 11 slams, then abandoned the practice until Friday.

But this isn’t the time to grouse about what wasn’t. The Rockies have been through enough, with injuries to a depth-challenged roster and two straight empty road series against hot teams -- the Braves and the Reds.

Colorado was able to celebrate two droughts ending on one night.

“We hadn’t hit a grand slam in a long time, as you guys know -- you’ll probably write about it,” manager Bud Black said. “I can’t remember how long it’s been, but the hitting coaches and the coaches have talked about it.

“It’s been good to see. That was a big deal.”

Will Díaz end another drought?

Díaz, who’s hitting .293 with 15 home runs and an .825 OPS, has a shot at becoming the first catcher in the Rockies’ 31-season history to be invited to the All-Star Game set for July 11 in Seattle.

Díaz logged three hits, including a first-inning double against the Angels. He helped usher Freeland, who gave up four runs in five innings after yielding seven in 4 1/3 innings at Atlanta on June 15.

Freeland was pushed back to Friday to provide more recovery time, but he felt weak as the outing progressed.

“I want to be that stopper for our team, that guy that gets us going at a new pace,” Freeland said. “Thankfully, Díaz was that guy tonight, with the big swing with the bases loaded.”

Black said: “He [Díaz] had a good night. On the pitching staff, I thought he did a really good job. He had a couple hits, besides the grand slam. No doubt about it. We were due. There were opportunities on the road trip to get a big hit.”

Without the swing from Díaz, who is in the second year of a three-year, $14.5 million contract, the game had the makings of many of late -- encouraging performances from lesser-experienced players.

Elehuris Montero and rookie Coco Montes had three hits apiece, rookie Ezequiel Tovar added two hits, and rookie right fielder Nolan Jones and first baseman Montero hooked up on a key line-drive double play.

Through the recent road trip, and during a not-long-ago eight-game skid, all those youthful contributions were merely bright spots in lost games.

But Díaz believes the younger players are learning quickly, and sooner than later, veterans Kris Bryant and C.J. Cron will return from the injured list.

Díaz is more comfortable setting examples, but he said he has begun speaking a little more -- without putting pressure on himself -- to help the team find its way.

“We’re pushing each other, trying to motivate everybody, especially our young pitchers,” Díaz said. “At some point, everything is going to turn.”