McCarthy, Moniak power Rockies past Marlins

DENVER – The Rockies set off an early round of fireworks at Coors Field Thursday, courtesy of the M&M Boys at the top of the lineup. Jake McCarthy and Mickey Moniak paced an offense that erupted for seven runs in the sixth to turn a one-run game into an eight-run blowout en route to a 14-4 rout over Miami, earning a series split in the four-game set.

“This is the most fun I've ever had playing baseball,” McCarthy said. “Being a part of this lineup is super fun. It looks different every single night with who steps up, but we have a lot of guys who are super competitive, who are hungry. We just want to continue to win games, especially against good teams.”

The Marlins ticked that last box, having gone 20-6 in June to salvage their season.

The top of the lineup was especially productive, with McCarthy, Moniak, TJ Rumfield and Willi Castro going a collective 8-for-16 with a walk, two hit-by-pitches, two doubles, two homers and nine RBIs.

“They've been good all year,” manager Warren Schaeffer said of the quartet. “Those guys just continue to be good. They take good, solid at-bats every day. They don't take days off – they grind.”

The big sixth inning came courtesy of a lot of little hits – using six singles, a walk, a hit batsman and a sac fly as the Rockies built a lead they would not relinquish.

“Staying in it, getting good pitches to hit, it's contagious – when one guy does it, you don't want to end the inning,” McCarthy said. “A couple balls fall, couple balls get driven. It's nice going into those late innings for our relievers and giving them a nice, cushy lead.”

McCarthy said he was anticipating off-speed pitches, knowing the Marlins’ affinity for sliders and sweepers. His fourth-inning homer was his first against a lefty this season and his first off a breaking pitch. It turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead and changed the tone of the game.

“Our mantra is always, even when we have a lead, protect it with more runs, especially playing at Coors,” McCarthy said. “We did a good job of that. I'm glad that homer was to take the lead, and we kept it, but the more runs we score, especially throughout the entire game, the better.”

Moniak finished a hit shy of a cycle for the second straight game. Wednesday night he was a single short for the second time this season, and on Thursday, he was missing a triple, having homered in the first for the third consecutive game against the Marlins, doubled in the third and singled in the sixth. He scored three runs and drove home two, and his back-to-back-to-back first inning homers are the first in franchise history for the Rockies.

Rockies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen couldn’t quite finish the fifth after matching his career high with six walks in 4 1/3 innings to drive his pitch count to 95 (just 46 for strikes) and an early exit. He gave up four runs, all earned, on four hits and struck out one.

Trailing 12-4 in the eighth, Miami pulled Javier Sanoja from third base to take the mound and spare the ’pen, and the Rockies scored twice against him in the eighth.

Rockies relievers Brennan Bernardino, Victor Vodnik and Zach Agnos combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and no walks with Agnos striking out two in the ninth to wrap up the win.

Bernardino was first to the hill, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings as the Rockies held their lead.

“Bernie's been extremely consistent,” Schaeffer said. “You always want to give him the ball, no matter if it's right or left, but most of the time we try to give him left-handed matchups, because he's our only lefty. He throws strikes consistently, and that's of huge importance to a manager.”

Vodnik followed with an identical line.

“Vic was really good today, which was good to see,” Schaeffer said. “It was a step forward for Vic.”

Echoing McCarthy, Moniak seemed to be having just as much fun on this new-look Rockies team, crediting his manager for shaping the team’s character.

“Instilling a mindset comes from Schaeff, from just knowing that we can bang and we can do damage, one through nine,” Moniak said. “And the four guys on the bench are all tough outs. It doesn't matter who's at the plate, that guy's gonna get the job done. We got full confidence in that, and it's a fun thing.”