TORONTO — The worm finally turned.
During the Rockies’ painful and sluggish start to the season, manager Bud Black insisted that the offense would wake up. It did, with a vengeance, in a 12-4 throttling of the Blue Jays on Friday night at Rogers Centre.
In their first-ever win in Toronto — they went 0-9 here in three previous trips — the Rockies pounded out 20 hits, including leadoff homers by Nolan Jones and Ezequiel Tovar. They chased reeling starter Kevin Gausman off the mound in the fourth inning.
“It was a good feeling to see us break out the way we did,” said second baseman Brendan Rodgers, who finished a home run short of the cycle and drove in his first runs of the season. “You play 12 games (without) an RBI and you think, ‘When am I going to come through?’ I struck out the other day with the bases loaded and that one really hurt. So just putting the ball in play pretty much does the job, and it felt good to get that RBI.”
Friday marked the sixth time in franchise history that the Rockies recorded at least 20 hits in a road game. They last accomplished the feat on June 5, 2013, at Cincinnati in a 12-4 win over the Reds. Colorado hit eight doubles Friday night, one short of the club record.
“It was great,” Black said of the Rockies hitting. “It’s contagious. Let’s hope so, though we won’t know until tomorrow.”
Gausman, a graduate of Aurora’s Grandview High School, was pummeled for six runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings. After three starts, he has an 11.57 ERA.
Colorado right-hander Ryan Feltner picked up his first win of the season with five solid innings. He gave up two runs on eight hits, walked two and fanned four. He got off to a rough start, and Colorado trailed 2-1 after Daulton Varsho led off the second with a homer. But Feltner settled in and blanked the Blue Jays for the next three innings.
Jones, mired in a deep slump to begin the season, busted out north of the border. He hit an RBI double in the second and his solo homer in the fifth came off his bat at 112 mph.
He wasn’t the only one who awoke from hibernation. Rodgers ripped a run-scoring double off Gausman in the second for Colorado’s first run of the game and his first RBI of the season. He added a bloop single to right in the seventh and led off the ninth with a triple to center and scored a run.
Designated hitter Kris Bryant, who entered the game hitting .100, opened the game by striking out, but then crushed a two-run double off Gausman in the fourth, chasing him from the game.
“Tonight was a good sign,” Black said. “Good for ‘B-Rod,’ good for Nolan, good for ‘KB.’ We need those guys. I’ve said that all along. They got off to tough starts but it’s just 14 games, so there are a lot of games left. This was a good one. Hopefully, we can build off of it.”
The four Rockies who have been hitting — third baseman Ryan McMahon, catcher Elias Diaz, center fielder Brenton Doyle and Tovar — all joined the hit parade.
McMahon, looking like a candidate for player-of-the-month, had a four-hit night. He hit an RBI double in the third, singled in the fourth, doubled in the sixth, and hit another RBI double in the ninth, boosting his average to .415.
Tovar, 2 for 5, singled, stole second base and scored in the first; launched his homer in the sixth; and hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh. He’s batting .340.
Doyle went 3 for 5, including an RBI double in the seventh, raising his average to .314.
Saturday’s pitching matchup
Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (0-2, 2.38 ERA) at Blue Jays RHP Bowden Francis (0-2, 12.96)
1:07 p.m. (MDT), Rogers Centre
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Hudson, making his third career start for the Rockies, has been their hard-luck starter. He’s 0-2 to begin his Colorado career despite giving up just three earned runs across 11 1/3 innings. The last time out, he made a quality start against Tampa Bay at Coors Field, allowing three runs on seven hits across six innings, but the Rockies lost, 3-2. He’s making his first career start vs. Toronto.
Francis, who’s penciled in as the Blue Jays’ starter, has never faced the Rockies. Francis is coming off a tough loss to the Yankees last Sunday. He allowed five runs on two hits and three walks over three innings. He struck out five and retired seven of the first eight batters he faced but fell apart in the third inning. He gave up a hit and three walks before Giancarlo Stanton cleared the bases with a grand slam in the Yankees’ five-run inning.
Pitching probables
Sunday: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (0-2, 16.03) at Blue Jays RHP Jose Berrios (2-0, 1.45), 11:37 a.m.
Monday: Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (0-2, 7.20) at Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (2-1, 4.50), 4:40 p.m.
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