DENVER -- For six innings, the Rockies’ eventual eighth straight victory, a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon, was joyful but plodding, in need of a shining star.
But in the seventh, Nolan Arenado -- whose surge for a month and a half has solidified his position as one of the game’s best players -- put glitz on the proceedings with a 432-foot solo homer.
“I feel very quiet with my movements, so I can see the ball,” Arenado said, revealing the science behind the show. “My head’s not moving a whole lot, so I can see it really well.”
The Rockies have announced loudly that they want to fulfill expectations of contending for a third straight postseason trip. Sunday’s victory finished the team’s longest homestand of the season at 9-1,which tied the club record for best 10-game homestand (Sept. 1-10, 2009 against the Mets, D-backs and Reds) and was its 11th victory in 13 games.
Arenado was by far not the only reason for Sunday’s joy. Some examples:
• Antonio Senzatela (4-4) skittered through seven batters but just one run in the first, and went a total of six innings with no further scoring.
• Chris Iannetta had an RBI double in the third and a 476-foot homer in the sixth off Toronto starter Aaron Sanchez (3-6). It was the third-longest homer in the Majors this year behind the Rangers’ Nomar Mazara on Opening Day and the D-backs’ Ketel Marte, also on Sunday.
• David Dahl singled and doubled in a run, and is 12-for-20 (.600) over his last five games.
Sunday’s victory came with shortstop Trevor Story resting -- after going 15-for-35 (.429) with four homers -- and right fielder Charlie Blackmon having missed the entire homestand with a right calf strain.
“You hear me talk about having five, six, seven guys swinging well, and we have that right now,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “That’s why we’re scoring.”
But with Arenado’s 16th homer of the year, off reliever Justin Shafer with one out and the count full, he reinforced the idea that his surge has led the Rockies’ climb.
They were 3-12 through the first 15 games, with Arenado pressing and batting .246 with no home runs.
But on a chilly April 14 afternoon in San Francisco, when German Marquez nearly no-hit the Giants, Arenado homered in a 4-0 victory. Since that day, the Rockies have gone on a sizzling 28-14 pace. All Arenado -- 2-for-4 with two RBIs Sunday -- has done in that time is bat .380 (65-for-171) with all of his home runs and 45 RBIs.
“I know I’ve been doing a good job lately and it’s a good feeling,” Arenado said. “I know I’ve been driving in runs, but the credit goes to my teammates. They’re getting on base for me and giving me the opportunity to drive them in.
“I try not to think about it. I know I’m hitting the ball hard. I know I’m doing my thing. I’m going to try to continue to do that.”
However, the run might be barely noticed by the NL West-leading Dodgers, who entered Sunday 21 games over .500 for the season.
“You’ve gotta worry about your own team, how you’re playing,” Black said. “You can’t let what other teams do affect you. That happens a little bit later in the season when you’re really watching other teams.”
Arenado said worrying about the standings is not a good use of time.
“There’s a lot of season left, a lot of games left but we can’t worry about the Dodgers -- they’re probably going to never lose again,” said a smiling Arenado, hoping the Rockies maintain their own winning habit.