This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding's Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Charlie Blackmon toughed out the kind of Wrigley Field evening that sends the City of Big Shoulders looking for a gigantic warm jacket. But he looked forward to the Rockies’ home opener today -- a day at Coors Field that, according to the forecast, will be dependably beautiful.

“At least the weather's going to be a little better than it is here,” Blackmon told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins at Wrigley. “It always seems like we get lucky with the weather in Denver on Opening Day. It looks like we won't be disappointed again.”

Only rarely does Denver have the cold opener that folks outside these parts expect. Usually, cold weather takes a break for a day or so as Coors is splashed with sunshine and optimism. Friday will be no exception, with game time temperatures exceeding 70 degrees for the game against the Rays.

And Blackmon can only hope for a home opener like his first, on April 4, 2014 -- when he had one of the sun-shiniest openers imaginable.

Blackmon went 6-for-6 with a home run, three doubles and five RBIs in a 12-2 victory over the D-backs. In his memory, he had no reason to expect to do so well.

“I know we started on the road in Miami. I remember that was a pretty tough series,” Blackmon said. “I might have gotten, like, one hit the series before the home opener. And then we played the Diamondbacks, and I think that’s the day I got all those hits.”

Actually, when the Rockies arrived for their first game at Coors, Blackmon was batting .300 -- 3-for-10 as the Rockies went 1-3 in the four-game series against the Marlins. But he can be forgiven for misremembering. He had so many hits in the home opener, it’s easy to forget anything before it.

“I just think that was just luck -- divine intervention,” Blackmon said. “I don't think you can ever predict that, right? I mean, I’ve been trying to recreate that day ever since, and I haven't quite got there yet. So that was just one of those days, and I'll never forget it.

“I’m pretty sure we won that game. That was my first home opener. The first time I got to see how big of a deal Denver treats that home opener. It's almost a state holiday. It seems like the whole city is in LoDo [Lower Downtown] for the game.”

The Rockies can use a game like that one long ago, when Colorado defeated Arizona to start a 4-2 homestand. The homestand also was a springboard to the first of Blackmon’s four All-Star selections.

This year, Colorado arrives at Coors having gone 1-6 against Arizona and Chicago.

While the Rockies have largely struggled in all aspects, Blackmon’s bat has seemed immune. He has reached base in all six of his appearances, and he has hits in his last five. He arrives slashing .417/.440/.625 with a walk, a stolen base and no strikeouts in 25 plate appearances. A triple on March 29 marked the 64th career three-bagger for Blackmon, MLB’s active career leader.