Bryant taking his time to settle in and find his footing

DENVER -- Kris Bryant's Tuesday night started like the type of evening the Rockies expected when they signed him for seven years and $182 million.

He drew a two-out walk to load the bases in the first inning, although Guardians starter Triston McKenzie escaped by forcing a Brendan Rodgers grounder. Bryant's second at-bat resulted in a two-run homer.

The rest of the night, however, went the other direction. Bryant's error on a fourth-inning grounder led to a two-run inning for Cleveland. The following two at-bats were strikeouts, and he grounded into a double play to end the Rockies' 13-7 loss at Coors Field.

But a season full of fits and starts must start somewhere. Was Tuesday's big swing a new beginning for Bryant?

"Ever since I've come back, I've felt good about my at-bats," Bryant said. "I'm taking my walks and hitting some balls hard. Yesterday, I had a couple of balls hit hard and a couple against the Phillies. So things are moving in the right direction, and, yes, it's nice to see one go over the fence for sure."

The year started slowly, then crashed to a halt when Bryant sustained a low back strain by crashing into a wall while making a catch on April 13 in Toronto. Since Bryant's return to the lineup on May 21, he's reached base in six of his eight games.

Bryant's batting average was .149 when he left the lineup, and he finished Tuesday at .173. He continues to hit in the middle of the lineup -- fourth or fifth, primarily since his return. He hit fifth on Tuesday.

The home run was Bryant's second of the season, first since April 5 -- 48 at-bats prior.

"That was good for K.B.," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "That was a good swing. That ball was well-hit. Kris has proven in his career that he can homer. He hasn't gotten on track, but a swing like today can get him going."

McKenzie had used mostly breaking balls during the first-inning walk. Second time up, Bryant crushed a 1-0 fastball a Statcast-projected 428 feet onto the concourse in left field.

"I saw it pretty good," Bryant said. "To go up on the concourse like that, I hadn't done that in a while."

Bryant's homer tied the game at 2, and then Elehuris Montero tied it at 4 with his third homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth.

In the top of the fourth, however, Rockies starter Ryan Feltner -- who gave up two-run homers to José Ramírez in the first and Josh Naylor (first of his two homers) in the fifth -- yielded a David Fry single to open the inning. Then Bryant let Kyle Manzardo's hard one-hopper tick off his glove for an error before the Guardians scored two runs in the inning.

"It was actually a fairly simple double-play ball," Bryant said. "I got ahead of myself thinking I'm going to tag the bag here and throw it there."

Cleveland, which got three-run shots from Fry in the seventh and Naylor in the eighth off Matt Carasiti, has the American League's best record (37-18). But the Rockies, who have taken home series from the Rangers and Phillies and still have a chance against the Guardians, have managed 15 runs in the first two games of this series.

The offense can be more productive if it can find power from Bryant, who had a history of homers with the Cubs and Giants before signing with the Rockies in 2022, and Montero, who hit most of his 11 homers last season during the latter portion.

Montero has consistently hit balls hard but low and at opponents. He is hitting .223, although he has trimmed his strikeout rate from 36.2 percent last season to 20.2 percent this year.

"I know that my average is not the best right now and it's something that I continue to work on," Montero said in Spanish, with Edwin Perez interpreting. "But I want to continue hitting the ball hard and to keep getting on base, and those numbers will slowly rise."

Bryant noted that the improving offense and mostly solid starting pitching have helped the Rockies win 11 of their last 18 games. And after swings like his and Montero's on Tuesday, progress should continue.

"Sometimes it takes a little bit to get into the swing of the season, and sometimes early on we try a little too much, try a little too hard," Bryant said. "So it's nice to settle in.

"We've been playing a little bit better baseball. That's really nice to see."