Julien, Moniak lead by example as Rox ride clutch hitting to win over Dodgers

DENVER – Two homestands into his time with the Rockies, infielder Edouard Julien has a deep understanding of Coors Field.

On Sunday afternoon, Mickey Moniak's seventh-inning, two-run homer gave the Rockies a narrow lead over the Dodgers. But in a season marked by tight games -- many lost -- the Rockies used a three-run eighth inning for a needed cushion in the 9-6 victory.

“It was big, especially at Coors Field,” said Julien, whose third hit of the game was a two-run single in the eighth that provided a bit of insurance. “I’ve learned that there is no such thing as a comfortable lead. Anybody can come back, and we can do that as well. So it was a good inning, especially in a close game.”

At 9-13 overall, the Rockies are 3-5 in one-run games -- and that doesn’t include walk-off losses on a grand slam and a three-run shot on back-to-back days in San Diego. So the lesson is logical: Any lead is good, but a bigger lead is better.

Moniak’s homer and Tyler Freeman's RBI single were the first three runs of the season off Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen and gave the Rockies a 6-4 lead. Those have a way of evaporating in the thin Rocky Mountain air, although the Rockies have had a solid bullpen in 2026.

But the Rockies lessened the chance in the eighth of giving the lead back by loading the bases with no outs against struggling Dodgers reliever Edwin Díaz. Julien, who singled in a fifth-inning run and doubled ahead of Moniak’s homer, pulled Díaz’s 94.5 mph fastball into right field to extend the lead to 8-4. Moniak’s fielder’s choice grounder made it a five-run game.

By adding on, the Rockies ended with 15 hits against the defending World Series champs. The high-water mark this year is 17 hits on March 30 against the defending American League champion Blue Jays.

The back-to-back wins mark the first time the Rockies have beaten L.A. in consecutive games in a single season since Colorado won three straight from Oct. 2-4, 2022.

It was fitting that Julien has emerged as a key hitter. With many players in the lineup still establishing themselves as Major Leaguers, manager Warren Schaeffer has been willing to let players earn prime spots. Julien, acquired from the Twins during the offseason because the Rockies liked his penchant for making pitchers work, has a .355 on-base percentage to go with his .259 batting average.

“Eddie’s been great for us since day one,” Schaeffer said. “We knew that he was going to be an on-base machine. That’s what he’s done in his career. The type of hitter he is, he takes walks, he swings at the balls in the strike zone. That’s what we like at the top.”

“That’s been the goal of the past week; we felt like we were chasing and giving away at-bats a little too much, and too early in counts,” Julien said. “Our focus is to go out there and see not more pitches but be committed to an approach, stick to it and put a good turn on a pitch you can drive.”

Of course, the Rockies wanted better offense before the past week. But attention was raised during a 3-1 loss at Houston on Wednesday when the Rockies struck out 15 times because they kept chasing pitches out of the strike zone. The performance sparked Schaeffer to call a meeting among hitters, though the players ended up offering most of the information.

“It definitely wasn’t a panic meeting,” Moniak said. “It was, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on. We’re seeing a lot of good things and stuff we can improve on, and let’s talk about it.'”

The work is in progress. The game following the whiff-fest, the Rockies did little with two bases-loaded scoring chances but beat the Astros, 3-2. They managed just two hits against the Dodgers on a frigid Friday night. Saturday’s 4-3 victory was a nail-biter. On Sunday, Kyle Karros knocked his first homer of the season and Troy Johnston added two hits after a three-hit game on Saturday.

The eighth-inning runs saved fingernails as Victor Vodnik faced loaded bases and gave up two runs in the top of the ninth.

If this continues, the meeting in Houston could be forever known as The Houston Meeting. But no one would say there was a fire-eating pep talk. Julien said no news was broken. It was just an appeal for hitters to have plans and execute.

Moniak homered on a first pitch. Karros slapped a 3-1 fastball from Roki Sasaki. Julien singled at 2-0 in the fifth vs. Sasaki, doubled with the count full against Treinen in the seventh and singled in two eighth-inning runs on a 3-1 pitch.

“Everybody hates striking out, right?” he said. “I don’t think it took one game just to figure out we need to have better attacks.”