DENVER -- If your name is Ryan, there’s at least a slight chance you were at Coors Field on Friday night. Ryan McMahon and Ryan Ritter certainly were, and they didn’t disappoint the many others who share their first name in attendance.
Ryan Meetup, a non-profit organization dedicated to simply bringing people who share a common name together, aimed to set a record for the most people named Ryan to attend a baseball game. The group gathered in sections 159 and 160 in center field to celebrate all things Ryan.
McMahon and Ritter perhaps found some inspiration and combined to go 3-for-8 with a pair of extra-base hits, including a Statcast-projected 467-foot solo home run from McMahon, in the Rockies’ 14-8 loss to the Diamondbacks in the series opener.
The two players helped spark a six-run fourth inning that saw 10 men come to the plate, giving the Rockies a one-run lead before the Diamondbacks scored eight runs through the final five innings en route to victory.
Ritter seemed especially energized by the contingent of Ryans present, acknowledging them with a point in their direction each time he reached base. And as a bonus, right-handed reliever Ryan Rolison made his 14th appearance of the season following the departure of Rockies starter Austin Gomber.
They were all met with loud chants of “Ryan! Ryan! Ryan!”
“They were DMing me on Instagram,” Ritter said. “Telling me to get ready for tonight. I was excited to have a day for the Ryans.
“They were acknowledging me, McMahon, Rolison. It was fun.”
“It was cool, man,” McMahon said. “They were loud, they were rowdy. It was good energy, so it was cool.”
After the Diamondbacks plated four in the fourth, McMahon led off the bottom half against Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen and clobbered a 1-1 changeup into the second deck in right-center field for his 12th homer of the season. The 467-foot blast marked the fourth-longest of McMahon’s career and his longest since hitting a 462-foot homer against the Dodgers exactly one year ago.
McMahon has enjoyed a recent surge at the plate, in which he has a .941 OPS with six home runs and eight RBIs in 72 plate appearances since the start of June, after entering the month sporting a slash line of .211/.328/.361. His hot bat has been a welcomed sign for a Rockies lineup that is third in MLB in home runs (27) since June 1.
“He homered tonight, which was really good,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I think he’s just taking better at-bats overall. I’m happy for him. It’s good for the team, it’s good for him, it’s good for everybody.”
Ritter, the Rockies’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has gotten a solid run at shortstop since Ezequiel Tovar was placed on the injured list on June 6 with a left oblique strain. He started his big league career riding a modest six-game hitting streak, but has largely been quiet at the plate since.
Friday marked Ritter’s second multihit performance, in which he scored twice in three at-bats. He also plated a run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
“The goal is always to contribute to the team,” Ritter said. “Each day, do something that benefits us. I just do the little things every day and go from there.”
Following the club’s first winning road trip since May 2023, the loss dropped the Rockies to 17-59, tied with the 1907 Cardinals for the second-most losses through 76 decisions in the Modern Era (since 1900). The Rockies believe that their historically unfortunate start has begun to take a positive turn recently, especially after winning eight of their previous 16 games entering Friday.
The Ryans have played a part in that, and on Friday, they made their presence felt tenfold.
“I think it’s just the never backing down, stay in the fight mentality,” McMahon said. “It’s coming from the top down. Schaeffer is great about that. He brings it every single day. He holds guys accountable and I think that’s starting to rub off on us to where we’re holding each other accountable and you’re seeing that more in games.”