Jones finding his footing and success after returning from injury

DENVER -- Nolan Jones wanted more.

Jones’ first five starts after missing 41 games with back and knee injuries were a solid foundation. He reached safely in all five. He walked five times last Friday and Saturday and had three hits on Sunday. But, last season, as a rookie, he hit 20 home runs and finished with 46 extra-base hits.

Jones knows one can’t walk his way to numbers like that. So his home run, part of a brief comeback attempt during the Rockies’ 11-5 loss to the Nationals on Friday night at Coors Field, brought a little more smile to his face.

"That [walking] is something that’s in my game for sure,” he said. “I’m definitely a little more patient. But the first couple of days, I was fouling off a lot of good pitches to hit. That’s where the walks came from. I’m trying to get on base any way I can.

“But when I get a good pitch to hit, I want to drive it. So it looks like I’m walking a bunch, but it’s a little frustrating.”

If Jones was frustrated, he unleashed his fury with one out in the fourth inning, lefty-on-lefty against Nationals starter DJ Herz -- who was given an eight-run lead but departed after 3 2/3 with two on in the fourth.

Jones swatted Herz’s 2-1 cutter 425 feet with a near-optimal 26-degree launch angle and a 108.7 mph exit velocity. The homer was part of a 2-for-3 night. Teammate and All-Star candidate Ezequiel Tovar wasn't to be outdone. He went 3-for-5 with a homer in the third.

Before the injuries, Jones was running into the sophomore slump -- .170 with one home run and 37 strikeouts in 103 plate appearances. Since returning, Jones is 7-for-18 (.389) and the walks give him a .556 on-base percentage.

But hits like the homer were why Jones asked the Rockies to extend his injury rehab assignment at Triple-A Albuquerque for a few days.

“I missed a bunch of time,” Jones said. “Since I’ve been back up, I’ve hit some singles, but it really feels good to catch one out front. Obviously, it didn’t change the outcome of the game, but for me it felt really good offensively.”

The mood may have been even more celebratory if not for starter Dakota Hudson’s struggle -- eight earned runs in three innings, with eight hits that included homers by Luis García Jr. and Drew Milas.

Wild out of the strike zone earlier in the season, Hudson was in bad places in the zone Friday. It adds up to 2-10 with a 5.63 ERA.

“It’s control versus command,” Hudson said. “I was controlling the zone for the most part, but then it’s about commanding the zone. I gotta be more stubborn, trying to get to the corner at certain times – especially with a team like that that came in feeling like they were all over me.

“We scored five runs and I put us behind the eight ball coming out with nine runs.”

Poor pitching has led to a 2-6 record this homestand, but two games remain. On a more positive note, the Rockies scored at least five in five of the games. Jones’ big swing continued to fuel confidence that the Rockies can find a rhythm.

“That was a good swing,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He drove that straightaway to right, which was good to see. When he came back we saw two base hits up the middle, hard singles.

“That was a good swing and I think there are better swings.”