MIAMI -- Hunter Goodman’s eighth-inning solo homer lifted the Rockies to a 3-2 victory over the Marlins on Tuesday night, helping to close the book on some dubious history.
Goodman, who homered twice during Monday’s 6-4 victory over the Marlins, homered off Anthony Bender to send the Rockies to their first series win of the season -- after 19 consecutive series losses. Going back to last season, the run of 22 series losses was the longest in MLB history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The victory, brought home by six innings of scoreless bullpen work culminating in Seth Halvorsen’s third save and a 3-for-4 night from Tyler Freeman, marked the second time this season the Rockies have won consecutive games. The 11-50 record moved Colorado into a tie with the 1932 Red Sox and the 1904 Senators for the worst mark after 61 games in the Modern Era (since 1900).
Goodman, 25, believes more good days are coming.
“I think it’s been more encouraging than discouraging,” he said. “We had some rough games in the first part of the year, and being able to just be in ballgames and have a chance to win is always better than just not being in it.”
Also, the series win is an indication that the Rockies learned from a particularly rough schedule patch. When Colorado arrived in Miami, it had played 29 straight games against teams that were at or above .500 at the time.
“We’ve played some really tough teams of late,” said Goodman, who has 10 homers this season. “The last four teams were four of the best teams in baseball, and we played competitive baseball with them. We just weren’t able to find a way to win a ballgame.
“To come here and win two in a row is good. We can take that momentum going forward.”
It’s also fitting that Goodman has put a happy face to the end of a road trip that started with being swept three games apiece by the Cubs and the Mets. During the early part of the road trip, Goodman, one of the better offensive performers this season, had fallen into a trap of trying to do too much to goose a struggling offense. Cage work in New York and Chicago had the effect of allowing Goodman to relax.
“I moved my hands a little lower, a little forward, just trying to keep my upper traps and shoulders nice and relaxed,” Goodman said before the game. “It helps with my bat path and keeps it a little smoother. I’ll just try to keep that going.”
It was a heart-in-the-throat finish. Chase Dollander, in his first outing since May 18 and since going to the injured list with right forearm inflammation, labored to 58 pitches in three innings (33 in the third) but limited the damage to two runs on two hits and three walks.
Relievers Juan Mejia, Jimmy Herget, Victor Vodnik and Halvorsen controlled the rest. But the game ended with a Heriberto Hernandez drive that looked like a homer off the bat but stayed in for center fielder Brenton Doyle to make a leaping catch against the wall.
“That’s big-time for the boys to get that first series win,” Schaeffer said. “Who would have known it wouldn’t come until June? But the time is now, and I’m happy for them.”
Goodman heaped some sadness on the Marlins, who lost despite receiving a quality start (two runs in six innings) from their heretofore struggling ace Sandy Alcantara, who hadn’t hurled a quality start since April 23.
“Goodman's had a good series,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “Saw him a little bit last year. We definitely know he has some power and he swung the bat well thus far in this series.
“It's a tough task for a right-handed hitter to hang in there against Bender and be able to still have enough behind it to barrel it. Good swing by him. It's a tough at-bat, he's had a good series, and [he's] been able to impact and come up with some big hits.”
Schaeffer said: “This series, he’s looked wonderful, obviously, with three homers in two days. But that’s Hunter Goodman. That doesn’t surprise me.”