DENVER -- The hotter Brendan Rodgers’ bat gets, the cooler the man becomes.

The Rockies need his type of cool right now.

Rodgers swatted a two-run first-inning double, a single in the third and a solo homer in the fifth inning on Sunday afternoon. The Rockies, however, never made it back from the early-inning struggles of starting pitcher Ryan Feltner, who was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after the game. Despite Rodgers’ good works, plus a two-run blast from Brian Serven in the eighth and a Charlie Blackmon leadoff homer in the ninth, the Braves walked away with an 8-7 victory and a four-game sweep at Coors Field.

• Box score

The game continued a maddening pattern for a club that has lost 20 of its past 27, and was swept at home for the first time this season. The Rockies have wasted good starting pitching performances -- like Friday and Saturday night -- and some impressive offensive surges. But Rodgers stayed cool while struggling with an .078 batting average in April, when Colorado was much better, and has hit .344 with nine doubles and all six of his homers since.

During a 2-5 homestand, one in which all but two games were winnable, Rodgers hit .345 (10-for-29) with four homers (three in one game) and seven RBIs. Now he is preaching that things can turn around for the team the way they did for him. The Rockies haven’t shown much evidence that they’ll pull it together, but Rodgers’ April didn’t foreshadow his hot streak since.

“We’re fine,” Rodgers said. “We battled back. We were down early. We put up three [runs] right away, then another three-spot.

“We’re all in it together. We all believe in each other.”

Having overcome a similar, if shorter, slow start last year, Rodgers can attest that believing in an approach is the key to a turnaround.

On Sunday, Rodgers’ double off Braves starter Charlie Morton bounced hard off the left-field wall. His home run, also off Morton, was to center field. But the single the opposite way to right was the best example of his hitting abilities.

Much like Wednesday’s 13-12, 10-inning win over the Marlins -- won with his third homer -- it was an opposite-field shot for his first homer that signaled his swing is in a good place.

“When I use the right side of the field, that opens up the defense even more for me," Rodgers explained. "Then it frees me up to be able to turn on pitches. That six-hole opens up now, because the shortstop is playing straight up and the second baseman is on the other side.”

Of course, if Rodgers strokes balls the way he did Sunday, the ball will be fielded off the wall by an outfielder or by a fan in the stands.

Rodgers acknowledged thinking about joining a who’s who of players who have achieved a cycle at Coors Field. He lined to short against Collin McHugh in the seventh, and after Blackmon’s homer off Kenley Jansen -- Blackmon’s first and just his fourth hit in 18 career at-bats against Jansen -- Rodgers popped out to third base.

“You [have to] hit a good spot and just triple here, “ Rodgers said. “It’s all good. I'm not worried about it.”

No need to worry when there will be plenty of chances to do something about it.

That’s a lesson the Rockies can use as they try to reverse a season trending the wrong way.