The Colorado Rockies defeated the Baltimore Orioles in style Friday night at Coors Field, 8-6.
Trevor Story pushed the Rockies to victory in the bottom of the ninth inning, crushing his second home run of the day over the fence in right field to solidify the victory for Colorado in walk off fashion.
Ahead are takeaways from the victory.
Story reaches a milestone
Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story reached a milestone in his young career in the seventh inning of Friday’s game.
With the Rockies trailing by a couple of runs, Story ripped a two-run home run to left field to bring Colorado within a run of Baltimore. While the home run came at a clutch moment, it was also the 100th career longball of the 26-year-old star’s career.
💯 was a no doubter!#StoryTime 📚 https://t.co/Y0FQ8M90uD pic.twitter.com/LTOwoAnVHR
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 25, 2019
Story became the fastest shortstop in Major League Baseball history to reach 100 home runs. The home run came in his 448th career game and the young slugger now finds himself in elite territory, joining Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra as the only shortstops to reach 100 career home runs in under 500 games played.
Story put the cherry on top in the bottom of the ninth inning where he cranked the game-winning home run to push the Rockies to victory.
Story and Arenado go back-to-back
The Rockies entered the bottom of the seventh inning down a handful of runs, but the power duo of Story and Nolan Arenado changed that rather quickly.
With a runner on base, Story cranked a 2-0 pitch into deep left field, easily clearing the wall for a monstrous home run.
Arenado then followed with a bomb of his own, crushing the first pitch he saw down the left field line for a solo shot, tying the ballgame at 6-6.
The home run was the second of the day for Arenado, as he and fellow star Story each enjoyed two long balls in the game.
Need a game-tying hit?
All you need is #NolanBeingNolan 😍 pic.twitter.com/l8vp5eEuss
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 25, 2019
Rodgers stays hot
Brendan Rodgers was the talk of the town when he was promoted from Triple-A Albuquerque to the Rockies’ major league roster last week.
Since getting the call, Rodgers has been productive for the Rockies, and that trend continued in Friday’s ballgame both at the plate and in the field.
Rodgers extended his hit streak to four games in the fourth inning when he hit an RBI single to center field, earning his first base knock in front of a packed Coors Field crowd.
Rodgers’ defense was also on display throughout the game. Despite being a shortstop by trade, Rodgers flashed the leather in the fifth inning to make a spectacular play in foul ground.
The entire right side of the field is #MrRodgers neighborhood 🏠 pic.twitter.com/JltInDJx27
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 25, 2019
Hoffman struggles in his start
The Rockies called up starting pitcher Jeff Hoffman from Triple-A Albuquerque to start Friday’s game against Baltimore.
Hoffman was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Troy Tulowitzki to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015. He has bounced around between the major league and minor league clubs in each of the past couple of seasons. And so far this season, Hoffman has struggled, posting a 3-3 record with an ERA of 7.57.
Hoffman’s struggles continued in his second start of the season at the big league level.
The Orioles jumped on Hoffman in the second inning, plating three runs with a home run and RBI double. Baltimore proceeded to post runs in the fourth and fifth innings, knocking Hoffman out of the game quite early.
Hoffman departed with a line of five innings pitched, allowing five runs on seven hits while walking two batters and striking out two.