'We're having fun': Vibes are high for streakin' Rockies

SAN DIEGO -- Here’s just about the only unwelcome news for the Rockies during their wild week of winning: They have an off-day on Thursday.

The Rockies are the hottest team in baseball, riding a seven-game winning streak after an 8-0 victory over the Padres on Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park. The way things are going, only the schedule can stop them from adding a daily ‘W’.

“I still think we’ll come out Friday and play a good game,” manager Bud Black said.

It will be a cheery group spending Thursday in San Francisco, hopping cable cars or exploring the Embarcadero. Though they certainly would rather be at Oracle Park -- where their next series begins on Friday -- they’ll undoubtedly enjoy the opportunity to look back on all that has gone right in the past week during their longest winning streak since an eight-gamer in 2019.

Here are seven things to savor for the Rockies about their past seven games:

1. So sweep
The Rockies secured their first sweep of more than two games in San Diego since April 12-14, 2013. They swept back-to-back series for the first time since May 27-June 2, 2019, when they took four from Arizona and three from Toronto. (That was part of the aforementioned eight-game winning streak).

2. Well-oiled rotation
Lefty Austin Gomber pitched six scoreless innings and allowed only two hits in the series finale to earn his first win of 2024. He also continued the rotation’s run of stellar starts. Rockies starters are 5-0 with a 1.96 ERA during the streak.

“Anytime you start Game 3 of a series, when you have a chance to sweep, it’s tougher,” Gomber said. “You get a little more focus from the other side. But I feel I’m in a good spot right now. I have a game plan, and I’ve pitched against these guys a lot. … I kind of know what I’ve had success with and how to go about getting there.”

3. Beck drops some hits
Through Monday, rookie outfielder Jordan Beck had no RBIs through his first 13 MLB games. He had one on Tuesday, then five more on Wednesday. He also hit the first home run of his fledgling career.

“That’s definitely something you dream of,” Beck said of homer No. 1, “and hope you can do a bunch more times.”

The sixth-inning drive was his first MLB hit off any four-seam fastball, and he got all of Jeremiah Estrada’s 95.5 mph offering. He followed with a single off Jhony Brito’s 94.9 mph four-seamer in the eighth inning.

“We knew he had a good heater,” Beck said of Estrada. “That was my main focus in that AB, just get on top of the heater and be on time for it.”

Added Black: “It was good to see him get to the fastball. He’s learning. It’s baptism under fire for Jordan against Major League pitching. It was good to see him turn around a good fastball.”

4. Cave, man
Jake Cave started all three games in San Diego, the first time he has started three consecutive games for the Rockies. He played like a regular, making a clutch diving catch in right field in the ninth inning of the series opener. He had a hit and a run in each of the games.

5. Leather works
The middle win during this streak was a thing of beauty. Video should be sent to Rawlings corporate HQ. The defense wasn’t as spectacular in San Diego, Cave’s catch aside, but it remained exceptional. The Rockies, in fact, have committed only one error during the winning streak, none in the past five games.

6. Hitting is contagious
The Rockies have had at least seven hits in every game during the streak. They’ve reached double digits five times, including 12 on Wednesday. They are batting .306 as a team during the streak with seven homers and an .822 OPS while averaging 6.1 runs a game.

“You can feel the vibe in here,” Beck said. “We’re having fun, and that’s what you’ve got to do in this game.”

7. Happy homecoming
It has been a month shy of nine years since Padres general manager A.J. Preller fired Black as Padres manager. Time heals all wounds, but a sweep against his former club in the area he calls home had to feel good.

“Momentum in all phases of the game,” Black said. “Obviously, it starts with the starting pitcher and then it goes to the team defense. But I like our overall at-bats here. … A lot of competitive at-bats, some good swings, just complete play by the guys.”