McCarthy's 4 hits, 2 homers power Rockies to victory over Cardinals

ST. LOUIS – Having given his team what it needed with two home runs, including one on Saturday night’s first pitch, Rockies leadoff man Jake McCarthy briefly thought of taking a little something for himself when he swung for the fences on the first pitch of his ninth-inning at-bat.

But then he picked the proper fundamental way of helping assure his team of the 8-6 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

A homer is not a bad play. McCarthy had gone deep against Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore to start the night and had a two-run blast off Luis Gastelum in the sixth. So with one out in the ninth, McCarthy decided why not try for a third long ball against Peter Strzelecki with the Rockies leading by two runs?

“I swung at a ball that almost hit me,” McCarthy said with a chuckle.

But then McCarthy helped his team’s cause by bunting up the third-base line for a single – his fourth hit. McCarthy then stole second and eventually scored on Kyle Karros’ sacrifice fly for a three-run lead that made it just a little easier on closer Jordan Romano, who yielded a run in the bottom of the ninth but completed his 10th save of the season.

So McCarthy ended his 4-for-5 night with the homers that improved his career-high total to 13, an infield hit in the three-run third, and two steals that helped lead to half of his four runs scored.

“There are times maybe to be a little selfish,” he said of his one wild swing on an otherwise sound night. “But I think the game was calling [for the bunt]. I saw the third baseman back up [in reaction to the ill-fated hard swing]. I figured I was going to get something over the plate. So I’m glad I did it.”

McCarthy became the eighth player since 1900 to have at least four hits, two home runs and two stolen bases in a game. Notably, the last one was his teammate, Mickey Moniak, who did it on Sept. 14, 2025, against the Padres.

The Rockies are more than happy to have traded with the Diamondbacks for McCarthy, whose many talents are responsible for a torrid last month-plus – a .315/.348/.569 slash line with seven homers and 30 RBIs in 31 games since July 1.

McCarthy had on-again, off-again shots with the Diamondbacks over five seasons. But last season, he hit .204 and was optioned to Triple-A by Arizona – in part, he admitted, because he tried to manufacture the ability to drive balls.

“Obviously, homers are fun, but I’m just trying to hit as many line drives as possible,” he said. “Maybe some of the slug is a product of just feeling good. Early in the game, getting the job done, you take pressure off when you already have two hits or things have been rolling. And guys in the rest of the lineup take pressure off you, too. It feels like I’ve been coming up with runners in scoring position a ton, and that’s a testament to the bottom of the lineup.”

Having returned to a swing that fits him, all aspects of his game are falling into place. His ability to hit left-on-left (.949 OPS, with the homer off Liberatore included) as well as against righty pitchers (.825 OPS) has made him manager Warren Schaeffer’s leadoff man. McCarthy’s comfort at all outfield positions also allows Schaeffer to play his best matchups.

“They’ve shown faith in me, and I want to make them look good for putting me at the top of the lineup every night, playing me against lefties and righties,” McCarthy said.

All this has made McCarthy a leader on a team that’s 46-71 but for two-plus months has had an increased number of performances that tease a better direction. By resisting moving him at Monday’s Trade Deadline, the Rockies have a leadoff hitter whose contract is under club control through 2028.

“He plays every day the way we want to play baseball as a team, and he sets the tone every day,” Schaeffer said. “Tonight was obviously an exceptional night – two homers, four hits. He stole a couple of bags. He shows what he can do.”