McMahon crushes one 443 feet after putting on BP show

DENVER -- Fans had not entered Coors Field, and television cameras weren’t rolling, when Ryan McMahon provided the biggest swing of Friday -- a third-deck home run during batting practice. But he was kind enough to provide a long-distance drive for all to see, a Statcast-projected 443-foot home run in the second inning of the Rockies’ 10-5 loss to the Nationals.

It would have taken a lot more than McMahon’s homer, his second of the season. Rockies starter José Ureña coughed up homers to Alex Call and Jeimer Candelario to open the game and didn’t complete the third inning (2 2/3 innings, seven hits, six runs, four earned runs, three walks, one strikeout) for the second time in as many starts.

But the afternoon was all smiles as McMahon dented the upper deck the way he saw former Rockies star Carlos González put on BP shows a few years back.

“CarGo used to do it all the time, so I thought that was cool,” McMahon said. “I did it a couple other times. I got it pretty deep [Friday].

“It’s a pure one. You know you’ve got it as good as you can get it. You catch it as pure as you can. Usually, when you try, you don’t do it.”

The drive during the game, which reached the wall behind the Nationals’ bullpen on the fly and cut the deficit to 4-1, came off Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who gave up just one other run in his six innings.

According to Statcast, it was the sixth time the left-handed-hitting McMahon has driven a homer at least 440 feet against a lefty pitcher. While Friday’s was impressive, it was nowhere near his career best. That was a 495-footer last Aug. 9 off the Cardinals’ T.J. McFarland. When McMahon finds his carefree powerful swing, balls go a long way.

“Connecting -- I guess that’s the most important part,” McMahon said.

The homer that counted offered another reason for the Rockies to believe McMahon will become a key lineup cog, if not a star, any time now. The night became rough after the homer, with three strikeouts -- the last two looking. He left with a .200 batting average.

“It’s definitely up and down -- definitely the game of baseball,” McMahon said. “We had our opportunities tonight. We could have pushed back into that one, and we didn’t capitalize on them.”

While the in-game homer was a topic of conversation, McMahon’s thoughts were on a rough team performance that included poor defense -- with only one error charged but poor play all around.

“I think everyone in the infield booted one at some point,” McMahon said. “Whether it was a hit or an error doesn't matter. They’re all plays that we could all make. So definitely gotta clean that up.

“I wouldn’t expect that to keep happening.”

Manager Bud Black appreciates McMahon’s accountability. But Black hopes McMahon consistently plays relaxed enough to deliver impressive swings like the one against Gore.

“Mac right now is pressing a little bit, like we saw a little bit last year,” Black said. “He understands his place on this team, his responsibility, and he doesn’t take that lightly. He wants to be a major contributor.”