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Rockies grab momentum from Marlins from get-go

MIAMI -- Finally, after four games, the Rockies led again.

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With three first-inning runs in Sunday's 4-1 win over Miami, Colorado took its first lead since Tuesday against St. Louis. The three runs -- which were more than the Rockies scored in their first three games of the series at Marlins Park combined -- were sparked by a Charlie Blackmon leadoff homer and a Nolan Arenado two-run blast off Dan Haren.

"As it turns out, Haren settled in pretty well, and those runs really made the difference in the game," said Blackmon, who hit his eighth homer of the season. "So we kind of got him early before he got a good feel for everything, and it helped us win the game."

Video: COL@MIA: Arenado's two-run shot pads Rockies' lead

While Blackmon's leadoff homer was certainly significant for the struggling Rockies' offense, it made a mark in the record books as well. The blast was the eighth leadoff home run of his career, which tied him with Eric Young -- now the team's first-base coach -- for the franchise lead.

"Charlie shows up every day and prepares very well and competes as hard as anybody," manager Walt Weiss said. "He's a grinder."

Blackmon was humble about his accomplishment.

"It's more of a momentum shifter I think," he said. "One run doesn't, a lot of times, mean much when you're doing it in the first inning of a nine-inning game. So more than anything, maybe it helps us like we did today. ... Maybe it unsettled the pitcher a little bit and got us some momentum."

That momentum may have carried down to Arenado in the No. 5 hole. With two outs and Troy Tulowitzki on first after a walk, the third baseman launched a long drive over the left-center-field fence for his 16th homer of the season.

The early lead allowed Jorge De La Rosa to settle in and log seven innings in his franchise-record-setting win.

"It was nice ... with Charlie and Nolan giving us an early lead," Weiss said. "They have a good bullpen over there, so when you play from behind, it makes it tough against these guys."

Steve Wilaj is an associate reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: Colorado Rockies, Charlie Blackmon, Nolan Arenado