Tovar heating up as he aims 'to finish strong'

LOS ANGELES -- Just a rookie, Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar still has been around long enough to know that it is best to conquer, not succumb.

He has come to realize the biggest error is dwelling on past mistakes.

Tovar hit a home run on the first pitch of the game Saturday and gave another all-around solid effort in a 4-1 loss to the Dodgers after arriving at Los Angeles on a low.

Tovar’s throwing error in the 10th inning on Wednesday gave the Milwaukee Brewers a 7-6 victory. It was a rare defensive miscue for the 22-year-old, who has quickly established himself as a top glove man at shortstop.

Immediately after Wednesday’s costly error, Tovar talked about the want for more in-game experience. He said the goal was “to finish strong.”

He didn’t have to say it. He could have let his play at Los Angeles do the talking.

“I try to play the game the same every day, good, bad or whatever,” Tovar said through an interpreter. “Every day is different. I like to turn the page and treat every day as a new day and forget what happened in the previous day.”

All Tovar did after his costly error in the previous series was to have a standout game defensively against the Dodgers on Thursday. He started a double play and was an all-around pest with the glove, including a running catch in short left field that prevented the Dodgers from taking a late lead, for the time being.

He has at least one hit in each game of the series against the surging Dodgers, and his home run on Saturday was his 12th of the season and second in six games.

Rockies manager Bud Black has touted Tovar’s poise, especially from such a young player, and Saturday was no different.

“You’ve heard me talk all year about his self-confidence, his self-assurance and his ability,” Black said. “I think he strongly believes he’s a good player and he does it in a humble way. He’s confident in his ability and I think that shows up.”

The Rockies might be a last-place team, but they have an infield defense to build on. Tovar’s eight defensive runs saved heading into play Saturday were sixth among all shortstops in baseball. Ryan McMahon leads all third basemen with 16 defensive runs saved.

With a month and a half remaining in the season, Tovar continues to put himself among the big names in club history with his rookie numbers. His 105 hits are 11th on the Rockies’ all-time franchise list for rookies, and he is just behind No. 10, Wilin Rosario (107). They are the most hits for a Rockies rookie since Nolan Arenado had 130 in 2013.

And the home run tied Tovar with Arenado’s mark of 52 rookie RBIs, moving into ninth on the franchise list. Arenado did it in 133 games, while Tovar has played 110.

“Honestly, it’s news to me and the first time I’ve heard about that,” Tovar said when asked about matching Arenado’s rookie RBI mark. “If you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t know. My whole thing is to just finish strong this year and whatever happens, happens.”

Narrowing down the focus even further, Tovar is the fourth Rockies rookie ever to hit a home run on the first pitch of a game and the first since Connor Joe in April of last season. Dexter Fowler did it in 2009 and Eric Young Sr. was the first to do it in 1996.

Saturday’s game was just the seventh in the leadoff spot for Tovar all season and just his second in 11 games this month.

“My approach is always the same, leadoff or not,” Tovar said. “If it’s first pitch in the zone, that’s what my approach is, to be aggressive, and luckily it went out.”

While the talk has been about Tovar’s defense in his rookie season, Black says it is only a matter of time before the young shortstop has an offensive game to match.

“We talked about the threat of power with Tovar and it showed in the first inning. That’s a good sign,” Black said. “He has double-digit homers. So he’s got some pop and I think, as his career really gets going, I think you’ll see more homers. He’s having a good year and I’m really proud of him.”