MIAMI -- Rockies first baseman TJ Rumfield felt the support of a significant number of fans at loanDepot Park on Saturday afternoon.
“Too many to name – everybody is here,” Rumfield said. “I had one teammate from Virginia Tech who texted me and told me he was coming, and I know there are more Hokies here.”
Rumfield gave them memories, but gave himself an important souvenir – the ball from his first Major League home run, a second-inning solo shot during the Rockies’ 4-3 loss to the Marlins.
“I haven’t decided where the ball is going yet, but I’m going to keep it for myself,” Rumfield said. “It’s one of those things that’s a dream come true.
“On the other hand, the bat from my first hit … That seems like it can go to two different people.”
Rumfield managed a broken-bat single off Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara and a walk in Friday night’s 2-1 loss in his Major League debut. Saturday’s homer came when he jumped on a fastball from Eury Pérez.
An acquisition from the Yankees late in the offseason, Rumfield won a starting job with a spring full of solid plate appearances. His one strikeout turned as many heads as his other offensive numbers (.286/.359/.554 slash line, with five homers and 13 RBIs).
Rumfield has begun his career against an established star in Alcantara and a rising one in Pérez. Both controlled Rockies bats for seven innings – a common feat for Alcantara, a two-time All-Star and winner of the 2022 Cy Young Award, and a career best for Pérez (he's matched that number just twice before).
“It’s an absolute fight, every single pitch,” said Rumfield, whose first Major League strikeout came in the sixth, when Pérez (who fanned eight) caught him looking at 99.5 mph on the outer black.
The Rockies have pitched almost well enough to win. Kyle Freeland lost the opener because of two ill-placed second-inning curveballs. Michael Lorenzen lost a 3-1 lead in the fifth when Liam Hicks hit a two-run homer – on a cutter Lorenzen expected to work.
“Based on the homework I’ve done, that is a good pitch to him, but you come into a new season and guys make adjustments,” Lorenzen said. “Maybe throughout this year, that’s not a good pitch to him. I thought it was actually executed really well. He just put a barrel on it, and that’s just baseball.”
Homers by Rumfield, on a 98 mph fastball, and Ezequiel Tovar, a two-run shot on a fourth-inning slider, weren’t enough to flip the result but were attention-getters.
“We had good at-bats against Pérez – made him change his game plan and go soft against us,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “But it was just not enough at the end of the day.”
Rumfield has accounted for himself as well as anyone for the Rockies.
“TJ’s first homer, against that guy? That’s pretty special,” Schaeffer said.
Rumfield’s shot to right-center went a Statcast-projected 423 feet and landed in the gloved right hand of a young fan with “Lefty” scripted across his T-shirt.
“I wish I’d met him,” Rumfield said. “I settled in yesterday. So today, I wasn’t thinking about just getting a hit. I was just thinking about doing what I do, which is damage.”