DENVER -- Being known as Nolan Arenado’s cousin is not bad for Rockies rookie Josh Fuentes, but the best way to make a name for himself is by forging his place.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, in his first two starts since being added to the active roster, Fuentes went 3-for-10 with a double and gave the Rockies solid defensive play at first base. He was back in the lineup Saturday against the Padres.

While Fuentes is not happy with his six strikeouts in 11 at-bats over four games, he is motivated to earn opportunities.

Fuentes started against D-backs lefties Alex Young and Robbie Ray, and again on Saturday, which was a bullpen day for the Padres, beginning with righty Michel Baez. So Fuentes spent much of the day going right-on-right.

Platoon at-bats are available, at the least. With veteran Daniel Murphy not known as the best defender, and the other first-base option being everyday second baseman Ryan McMahon, the glove is as important as the bat.

“I definitely focus on my defense a lot,” said Fuentes, 27, who wasn’t drafted out of Missouri Baptist University in 2014 but earned his way by hitting .291/.339/.470 over six Minor League seasons -- and switching from third base to first. “Hitting is so hard. Sometimes, hits are few and far between. But when you’re on the field all nine innings, you’ve got to make an impact.”

Fuentes batted .218/.232/.400 in 24 games over two call-ups last season, with a .270 clip and three homers in September making the bigger impression. Fuentes was good enough in Spring Training, hitting .300 over 14 games, and Summer Camp to earn a spot on the season-opening 30-man roster. But he didn’t appear in a game before being sent to the alternate training site when the roster reduced to 28 players.

“It was awesome to make the team, but as a competitor, as a player, you want to play,” Fuentes said. “But we were winning, doing really well, and my opportunity just wasn’t there.”

However, with Murphy having entered Saturday hitting .258 -- including .121 over his past 10 games -- Fuentes could be in position to earn all the playing time he can handle. His defensive development, honed during offseason and quarantine workouts with Arenado, has pleased Rockies manager Bud Black.

“Josh’s defensive skills have improved mightily over the last couple years,” Black said. “He’s trying to forge his way on a big league roster and is doing everything he can. At some point, we’ll talk about maybe the outfield for Josh. We’ll see. First things first: The coaches and I feel confident in his ability to play first [base], and play it well.”

González returns
The Rockies reinstated right-hander Chi Chi González from the injured list and optioned righty Ashton Goudeau to their alternate site. The club, however, is still slated to start rookie Ryan Castellani on Sunday. Casellani (1-1, 3.54 ERA) joined the rotation to replace González, who went three innings in his only start on Aug. 3 and left with right biceps tendinitis.

Listening for the right sound
In Friday's 10-4 loss to the Padres, San Diego's rowdy dugout -- more noisy than most teams' -- contrasted with Colorado's. Often when the Rockies struggle, Black is asked if the Rockies’ quiet grinder personae works against them, as much as for them.

Dig through the answer, however, and Black is more concerned with the sound that causes all that noise: bats hitting the ball. Black said it has to happen, especially if the Rockies can’t swing a deal by Monday’s 2 p.m. MT Trade Deadline.

“We’re pretty steady with Trevor [Story], Nolan, Chuck [Charlie Blackmon], I think [Matt] Kemp can be a contributor and Murph when he comes out of his funk, he can be a big contributor,” Black said. “You look at some of the other guys with lesser service time, you look at portions of their career and you can see where they can put together two, three weeks of good performances. Now we need those performances.

“That’s the expectation, not necessarily bringing somebody in to help. I mean, that’s part of baseball this time of year and teams are trying to do that, including us. But when you look at all the players who might be available, it takes two to tango, and there are a lot of teams on the same guys.”

Moment of silence

The Rockies held a pregame moment of silence for actor Chadwick Boseman, who passed away Friday after a lengthy battle with colon cancer. Boseman played Jackie Robinson in the 2013 movie "42" as well as other roles. Matt Kemp spoke eloquently about Boseman after Friday's game, in which Kemp hit a 468-foot home run.