SAN FRANCISCO -- The Rockies were in a hole early on. A turbulent first inning from Germán Márquez put the Giants ahead by two runs and it seemed like Márquez's string of bad outings would continue.

But Márquez settled down, putting up zeros for the next five innings. And the Rockies chipped away at the Giants' lead, setting the stage for someone to be the hero.

With two on and one out in the sixth inning, Charlie Blackmon walked to the plate to pinch-hit for center fielder Garrett Hampson. San Francisco brought in lefty José Álvarez to face him, but it didn't matter. Blackmon turned on a changeup that was down and in and hammered it into McCovey Cove, giving the Rockies a lead they wouldn't relinquish in a 5-3 win over the Giants.

"It was just really cool to come up in that spot, right?" Blackmon said in a postgame interview on AT&T Sportsnet. "Pinch hit off the bench, kind of cold with the lefty, tight game -- anyway, it was a really cool, memorable spot to do it."

It was Blackmon's first splash hit at Oracle Park, and the 57th by an opposing player. Per Statcast, the ball left the bat at 107.5 mph and traveled a projected 423 feet. But stats aside, the home run was extra special: It was Blackmon's 200th career round-tripper, and it came on the 11th anniversary of his Major League debut.

"It was serendipitous, wasn't it?" manager Bud Black said. "That was a big swing for us. We needed that -- obviously, that's an understatement -- but that was a really good swing, gave us a huge lift. I think it pumped up the guys in the 'pen, and Germán put up a zero in the sixth, so that was big."

And yes, Blackmon did get the ball back, per the team. The fan who fished it out of McCovey Cove drove a hard bargain, but a bat signed by Blackmon and a ball signed by Kris Bryant proved worthy offerings.

Blackmon got his first taste of the big leagues on June 7, 2011, when the Rockies faced the Padres in San Diego. He was hitless in his debut, but Black -- who was the Padres' skipper at the time -- said he made an impression nonetheless.

"Clean-shaven, hair much shorter than it is now," Black said. "I didn't know it was this specific date, but I do remember that left-handed-hitting outfielder up from the Minors."

Eleven years later, Blackmon has made his mark on the franchise. He trails just Todd Helton in games played (1,318) and hits (1,498) in Colorado history, and Tuesday night's home run boosted him on some other leaderboards. Blackmon is now one homer away from tying Dante Bichette's total with the Rockies (201), and his three RBIs on the night were enough to break a tie with Troy Tulowitzki for the seventh-most all-time (660).

His teammates weren't surprised that he came through. To them, Blackmon is at the core of what it means to be a Rockie.

"Charlie's the leader of this team, there's no secret about that," said Connor Joe, who scored two runs as the designated hitter on Tuesday. "We know when he's not starting the game, he's going to find his way into the game at some point, we just don't know when.

"He always finds a way to get the big hit, and that's what he did."

It was huge for Blackmon and for the team -- Tuesday's win snapped a four-game losing streak that came amid an ugly skid in which the Rockies had lost 20 of their last 27 games, the worst record in the Majors during that span.

Blackmon, too, has gotten off to a relatively slow start this season -- but he has looked better at the plate recently. Entering Tuesday's game, Blackmon had hit safely in 17 of 21 games since May 13, going 24-for-88 (.273) with four home runs and 13 RBIs.

He's no longer a clean-shaven, short-haired rookie -- yesterday's Blackmon might not recognize the face staring back at him in the mirror today -- but one thing has remained the same for Blackmon these past 11 years: his appreciation for taking the diamond every day.

"I'm really trying to enjoy it," Blackmon said. "I'm really lucky to be here. It's a long time to play this game -- one day is a long time to play this game, and I'm very lucky."