Goodman homers twice as Rockies respond with rout of Reds

CINCINNATI -- Hunter Goodman was listed in the Rockies’ cleanup position on Wednesday. But really, it was the whole team seeking a quick cleansing.

The previous night featured a sloppy defensive first inning and the first loss of their current road trip. Losses happen, but the Rockies have experienced so many in recent years – 119 last season – that the 2026 season is an entry-level course: Winning 101.

The club had swept three games from the Mets at Citi Field over the weekend. But it’s after losses that winning teams address what went wrong. Goodman has hit for power of late, but felt he had to address his approach after a hitless Tuesday that included grounding into a late double play on a night when the Rockies went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

“I worked on some stuff in the cage, and talked about a little bit of a different approach,” Goodman said.

Goodman proved a quick study, with two home runs in the Rockies’ 13-2 victory that improved them to 4-1 on a road trip that will conclude Thursday afternoon.

Several newcomers have helped the Rockies start this year an encouraging 14-17. Two of them were key Wednesday. Brett Sullivan lashed a three-run, left-on-left double off Reds starter Brandon Williamson in the first inning, and righty starter Tomoyuki Sugano continued his strong start (3-1, 2.84 ERA) with 5 1/3 scoreless innings.

But many players either endured last year or have participated in the seven straight losing seasons that the Rockies are trying to purge from their systems. Goodman, an All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner last year after two seasons bouncing between the Majors and Triple-A Albuquerque, has been around long enough to understand how habits must change.

Goodman heeded words of a team talk by manager Warren Schaeffer, who doesn’t browbeat about the past but in his first full year as manager has kept the team on task with timely reminders.

“[Schaeffer] had some words for us in our hitters meeting today, and the way he approached it and said it was really good,” Goodman said. “It kind of got us going a little bit, too. Yesterday, it was just not the brand of baseball we want to play. So we came back trying to play a better brand of baseball.

“He’s good at communicating things in a way that you learn from it, then move on to the next thing.”

The Rockies moved ahead easily. Ezequiel Tovar backed up Sullivan’s double with a diving play on a Sal Stewart grounder and throw to the plate to retire Matt McLain in the bottom of the first. Sugano’s start included two strikeouts and seven groundouts.

“So far, it’s been a good road trip,” Schaeffer said. “You don’t expect these guys to repeat a negative performance. They take it personally, so it was a good, good bounce-back.”

The Rockies have to be crisp, because scoring most often comes from stringing together increasingly stingy plate appearances. Goodman, who improved his team-leading homer total to nine (one more than Mickey Moniak), gives the opponent a bat to fear.

Of his last 15 hits, seven have been homers – and five of the other eight have been doubles. Goodman launched a solo homer in the fifth off Luis Mey and a two-run shot in the seventh off Jose Franco. He broke from character in the top of the ninth with a single.

The 3-for-4 performance lifted Goodman’s batting average to .269. Goodman knows he can be truly a problem for opposing pitchers if he can incrementally improve his tendency to chase pitches down and away and, sometimes, above the zone. He hit upon the right adjustment Wednesday by pushing thoughts toward the situation and the pitch rather than what is going on with his swing.

“It’s just some things with my approach, thinking a little bit differently and trying not to be so focused on the internal,” Goodman said. “Be more focused on the external stuff.”

For a player on a team trying to internalize winning, it was the right step.