Schaeffer's milestone victory a group effort from Rox

PHOENIX -- Ezequiel Tovar’s five hits in his second game off the injured list took a lot of the spotlight in Warren Schaeffer’s first win as Rockies manager on Saturday night at Chase Field, rightfully so. As did Schaeffer’s laundry-cart ride into the shower for a celebratory dousing of shaving cream, beer and mouthwash after the 14-12 triumph.

• Sunday: ARI 1, COL 0

But it took an extraordinary effort up and down the lineup to hand the D-backs their first loss in franchise history in which they scored at least 12 runs. Here’s a look at three more standouts from win No. 1 of the Schaeffer era.

Jordan Beck
Beck went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and four runs scored, becoming the eighth player in Rockies history to hit two homers and a triple in the same game, and the first to do it somewhere other than Coors Field.

Rockies with 2 HR, 1 3B in a single game
• Jordan Beck, 5/17/25 at AZ
• Charlie Blackmon, 6/13/19 vs. SD
• Ben Paulsen, 7/26/15 vs. CIN
• Ryan Spilborghs, 6/13/10 vs. TOR
• Garrett Atkins, 9/19/06 vs. SF
• Vinny Castilla, 9/4/98 vs. SD
• Dante Bichette, 6/28/97 vs. SF
• Larry Walker, 5/21/96 vs. vs. PIT

Making Beck’s statline stand out further was the manner in which he went about accomplishing it.

Prior to Saturday’s game, with the Rockies having lost 12 of their last 13 games and having struck out 14 times in each of the past two, I asked Schaeffer what he would immediately like to see out of his lineup if he had a magic wand.

“Be aggressive to the heater, especially early in the count,” he said without hesitation. “And then battle like crazy with two strikes. If we combine those two things, good things will happen.”

Maybe he did have a magic wand, because Beck’s first homer came on the first pitch of the game, a fastball from Zac Gallen.

“We talked about it before the game and we wanted to execute a plan and I think we executed the plan pretty well,” said Beck. “I mean, that was just a good baseball game. It was fun and we’re glad to [get Schaeffer] one.”

Hunter Goodman
Goodman went 3-for-6 with a homer, a double and four RBIs. His big fly also came in the first inning, and also on a first-pitch fastball from Gallen. Seven pitches into the game, the Rockies had a 3-0 lead and the tone had been set.

“It was a good game, a good team game,” he said. “We kept passing the bat and having good at-bats.”

The catcher/DH hit 13 homers in 70 games last season, but he only slashed .190/.228/.417. Something has clicked this season, as he entered Sunday’s series finale tied for the club lead with seven homers in 43 games, slashing .300/.354/.506.

“I’m just trying to stick to my plan, stick to my approach and stay within myself,” Goodman said. “I feel like in the past sometimes I’d try to get too big or try to do too much.”

It’s working. Goodman entered Sunday ranked fifth in batting average, third in home runs and second in RBIs (29) among NL catchers with at least 50 at-bats.

Michael Toglia
Toglia got a breather and wasn’t in Saturday’s starting lineup, but he was called on to pinch-hit for Nick Martini against lefty reliever Jalen Beeks leading off the sixth inning. Despite hitting four homers off Gallen, the Rockies were trailing 11-6, and the D-backs had seized the momentum.

Toglia drew a walk and came around to score on a Goodman single as the Rockies made it a one-run game with a four-spot.

He remained in the game as DH and hit a game-tying double one inning later. Beck’s second homer soon followed and the Rockies had the lead for good.

It took four solid innings from the bullpen to close it out, but they were able to hold off a relentless D-backs attack and put the win in the books for Schaeffer.

“That was awesome,” he said. “Honestly the whole goal was to get him his first win. We love playing for him. I’ve known him for a long time, and I was happy to get in and be a part of that.”