SAN FRANCISCO – As soon as his bat connected with the second pitch from Giants starter Trevor McDonald leading off Sunday’s game, Jake McCarthy’s thoughts immediately focused on getting to third base.
As he rounded second and headed for third, however, the Rockies’ leadoff hitter saw third-base coach Andy González waving him around, and he sped toward the plate for an inside-the-park home run.
“I’m always thinking [third base] if the ball is in the gap like that,” McCarthy said after the Rockies’ 3-1 loss. “But it’s exciting when you see Andy waving you around. It takes a little luck, some good placement. But yeah, cool moment.”
Definitely a cool moment, to go along with a bit of déjà vu.
Three weeks earlier, McCarthy incredibly recorded his first inside-the-park home run at any level against the Pirates.
When he doubled down and did it again on Sunday, McCarthy became the first player with two leadoff inside-the-parkers in the same season since Edd Roush in 1929.
“If anybody’s going to do it, it’s Jake,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “That doesn’t surprise me. It’s quite the accomplishment, though. He got it started really nice for us.”
The play at Oracle Park initially appeared to be a Little League home run. McCarthy drilled a ball into Triples Alley in right-center field, and two Giants outfielders pulled up as they chased it, thinking the ball might bounce over the fence for a ground-rule double.
Instead, the ball caromed high off the wall as McCarthy raced around to score. The official scorer initially ruled it a triple and an error on right fielder Jung Hoo Lee, but later changed it to a home run to cement McCarthy’s name in the history books.
McCarthy said it helped that both of his inside-the-park home runs came at spacious grounds like Oracle Park and Coors Field in Colorado.
“Just hit it as far as you can and run,” he joked.
It was the third first-inning leadoff inside-the-park homer in Rockies history -- Eric Young Jr. had the other on Aug. 8, 2012. It was the 21st inside-the-park homer in Rockies history and, before McCarthy's feats this season, the team’s first since Ian Desmond’s on June 14, 2019.
McCarthy, 28, joined the Rockies in a January trade with the Diamondbacks.
“He’s an electric player,” Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros said. “It’s huge every night to provide that spark at the top and to lead off a game.”