DENVER -- Jake McCarthy was determined to give the Rockies a first-inning lead, even if it was going to cost him his pregame meal.
Leading off the bottom of the first on Saturday, McCarthy lined Pirates ace Paul Skenes’ pitch into right-center field. When center fielder Jake Magnum dove for it but came up empty, McCarthy sped around the bases for his first inside-the-park home run at any level of baseball.
“I was tired -- I was trying not to throw up,” he said.
In the third inning, McCarthy used his speed for the deciding run. Seeing his grounder go past diving second baseman Brandon Lowe, McCarthy beat Mangum’s throw to second base. Then he scored the deciding run of the 2-1 victory on TJ Rumfield’s single.
Between offensive plays, McCarthy had another stomach-churning run. It took him a while to have the presence of mind to remove the furry home run jacket that served as a heat trap. While he was playing center field in the top of the second, he had to chase the play when Mangum doubled into the right-field corner.
“I was crawling back to my position, so I’m glad I was able to catch my breath,” McCarthy said.
The inside-the-parker was full of fun facts:
• It was the second first-inning leadoff inside-the-park homer in Rockies history -- Eric Young Jr. had the other on Aug. 8, 2012. It was the 20th inside-the-park homer in Rockies history and the team’s first since Ian Desmond’s on June 14, 2019.
• The Rockies-Pirates game marked the second time this year there has been a leadoff homer in the top of the first and bottom of the first in the same game, after Spencer Horwitz went deep for the Pirates to open the game. The Rangers’ Brandon Nimmo and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani accomplished the feat on April 11.
• Skenes has a way of being victimized by odd little facts at Coors. McCarthy’s was the third first-inning leadoff homer of the year against Skenes and the seventh of his career. Last year at Coors, Jordan Beck’s three-run shot was the first home run of more than two runs off Skenes in his career.
McCarthy, 28, joined the Rockies in a January trade with the Diamondbacks, mainly to add speed that plays at Coors Field. The team also felt he could provide smart hitting. Saturday, for example, he executed the team’s plan: “Sounds simple, but get a ball over the heart of the plate and take a good swing,” he said.
The season started slowly, but McCarthy has a .325/.360/.513 slash line over his last 20 games since May 24, and an active nine-game hitting streak. Offseason veteran acquisitions Troy Johnston (consistent throughout), Willi Castro and Edouard Julien (each overcame down periods) also have helped the Rockies gradually reverse their wild-swinging ways of the recent past. Rookie trade acquisition Rumfield has provided patience, and other young players are learning.
From Opening Day through May 31, the Rockies had a 24 percent strikeout rate and 7.7 percent walk rate. Since, the rates are 20.4 percent and 10.0 percent, respectively.
McCarthy said he is reminded of Diamondbacks teams that learned to win.
“I look back on my first couple of months in the big leagues and it’s such an adjustment period -- a completely different game,” McCarthy said. “We have a number of guys who, regardless of their age, may be in their first couple of years in the big leagues. I’m not even saying I’m a veteran. I’m learning things about myself.
“Hopefully, we’ll continue to ascend, learn more about ourselves and become a more complete offense.”
On Saturday, McCarthy learned to look to third-base coach Andy González when there is a chance to circle the bases, no matter how queasy he felt.
“When Andy waved me, I was running out of gas,” he said. “I was slow from third to home. But luckily, that wasn’t a bang-bang play. But I always try to run the bases hard and look at Andy.
“I had an opportunity earlier this year where I shut it down early -- I think it was against the Braves in left-center. I’m trying to keep my head up. There’s always an opportunity to go home.”