Tovar possesses unwavering belief in himself, Rockies

DENVER -- In a Rockies’ season that would reduce anyone’s power of positive thinking, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar has enough to lift himself and the rest of the club.

Tovar singled, tripled and doubled -- the latter two extra-base hits occurring in the Rockies’ seven-run fourth inning -- and helped pull the Rockies out of their funk with a 9-1 victory over the Giants at Coors Field on Thursday afternoon.

The victory ended a four-game losing streak. It came a day after the Rockies (9-28) had fallen behind the White Sox (9-28 going into Thursday night against the Guardians) for the Majors’ worst record. The Rockies avoided being swept, but still have not won a series or consecutive games this season. The defending World Series champion Rangers are coming to town Friday -- with former Rockies pitching mainstay Jon Gray starting.

Before finishing a home run shy of a cycle, Tovar had slashed .149/.200/.170 in his previous 11 games. But Tovar, 22, insisted none of this cut into his belief in himself, or his trust that something good will rise from a building program that is struggling to lay a foundation.

“I'm very positive,” Tovar said. “Even in our losses and everything, I’ve tried to look at the good things that happened -- the good at-bats and everything like that. I just always keep my positive mindset and always just look for the good in the game.”

Times have been difficult enough that manager Bud Black, for the last two games, backed away from a plan that still may have legs in the future -- Tovar and Brenton Doyle at the top of the lineup. The youthful top of the order now is taking a backseat to Charlie Blackmon, 37, leading off.

Early signs are as positive as Tovar’s disposition.

• Tovar’s triple off Giants starter Keaton Winn and double off reliever Randy Rodriguez in the fourth made him the second player in club history to double and triple in the same inning. Garrett Hampson accomplished the feat on Aug. 11, 2020, in the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks.
• Blackmon, who went 2-for-4 in Wednesday night’s 8-6 loss to the Giants, tripled, doubled and singled during a 3-for-5 game. His triple improved his career total to 66, top among active players. He lifted his RBI total to 762 -- two beyond Nolan Arenado for fourth in Rockies history.
• Doyle, who ended an 0-for-11 slide with a triple on Wednesday, launched a three-run homer off Winn in the fourth, and doubled in the eighth.

“We have a ton of faith in each other,” said Doyle, who has four homers this season. “We know when we're passing the baton that good things are gonna happen. Today showed it for sure.”

The cushion was enough for starter Cal Quantrill (2-3) -- who held the Giants to one run in six innings and now owns two of the three wins by Rockies starters this season. Quantrill gave up one run -- Michael Conforto’s solo homer to open the fourth -- on five hits, with five strikeouts and three walks.

“It’s a big difference pitching with a six-run lead,” said Quantrill, who worked Conforto into a double-play grounder to end the fifth. “The guys have been working hard. We’ve hit a lot of balls hard and not gotten away with it.”

The Rockies stated during Spring Training that Tovar will be a key to the future by signing him to a seven-year contract worth $63.5 million, with a club option. Of the Rockies’ nine starting position players Thursday, Tovar’s 198 Major League games played rank fifth. As much as the Rockies value his offensive potential and proven defense (he was a Gold Glove finalist last year), they believe his baseball sense and upbeat spirit will spur the team forward.

But Tovar also has his challenges.

Tovar began the season strong, slashing .312/.356/.473 through the season’s first 24 games. But he slumped during the Rockies’ difficult road trip, and the trouble spot is his 50 strikeouts, including two Thursday.

“He’s an aggressive swinger,” Black said. “But he’ll get a little expansion [of the strike zone] at times. But today he barreled balls that were in the hitting area.

“What he’s got to get to is laying off the breaking ball away, and a little bit of the high fastball chase. But he barreled the ball today and was a home run away from the cycle.”

Tovar is keen on the big picture, concentrating on having “a good moment every game,” offensively, defensively and on the bases. He applies perspective to his quest to reduce strikeouts, which could propel him and his team.

“Things you're taught as a kid, like, ‘make contact, make contact,’ those are things that I think about when I go through bad times,” Tovar said. “It’s a game of adjustments and I keep doing it.”