DENVER -- The moment of joy came when there was no happiness. Raimel Tapia opened his stride and turned a line drive to left-center field into a ninth-inning triple in Sunday's loss to the Dodgers. Golden braids bounced off his nameplate as he moved. He slid and double-pointed to the sky.

It may not be now or never for Tapia, 25, a former top outfield prospect who is out of Minor League options, to provide this type of jolt and fuel wins. But now is a good time.

The Rockies hope David Dahl’s midsection injury doesn’t keep him out long, but his absence gives Tapia opportunity. They don’t expect Ian Desmond’s slow start to last forever, but his struggles against tough right-handers are ongoing. Is it, as manager Bud Black is known to say, “Tap Time?”

Tapia is 4-for-20 this season, not a start that made it impossible for the Rockies to deny him some time on the field. But did the Sunday triple spark Tapia to reach his potential of making an impact?

Here are three ways Tapia can make that happen.

1. Be in control: Tapia has had to impress in the limited opportunity that a fourth outfielder gets, but of his eight field outs (according to Statcast), five have been soft ones to the pitcher, or barely past the home-plate dirt, or rollovers to the left side. He has struck out five times and is chasing pitches, something he didn’t do in the Minors, when he was known for his strong two-strike approach.

“For him, it’s hit the ball where it’s pitched, because he can drive the ball the other way like he did last night,” Black said. “He can get a base hit to left. He’s got some pull power -- if he gets a hanging breaking ball on the inside part of the plate, rip it into right.”

2. Stay cool: Tapia admits “sometimes I’ve been a little uptight,” which is not him. Playing loosely in 2017, Tapia batted .288 with 12 doubles, two triples and two home runs, and he had a pinch-hit single in the Rockies' National League Wild Card Game loss to the D-backs.

Tapia, from the Dominican Republic, is the Rockies’ only position player from a Latin American country, but he is beating the language barrier, and he credits Desmond and Charlie Blackmon for mentorship.

“I’m just trying to be a friend to him -- he’s a cool dude and a contributor to our team,” Desmond said. “I can speak enough Spanish and he speaks enough English for us to communicate pretty well, actually. We sit together on the plane, and I’m excited for him to get an opportunity.”

Blackmon said Tapia is “working very hard to communicate, and he seems to be very receptive to me and ‘Desi’ and a lot of the other guys who have been around a little longer.”

Tapia is getting the right message.

“I know I just need to take a good swing,” Tapia said. “Home runs are OK, but I don’t need to try for a line drive. My last two at-bats last night, that’s what I did.”

3. Let the style flow: The hairstyle, which makes his batting helmet sit high, is fresh. The high socks are old-school. The way he signals “safe” like he is dropping a parachute after an infield hit is signature.

There’s no Statcast measure for playing with a smile, and maintaining it through tough times.

“Personally, I prefer success for all our players, but I do appreciate certain players have a certain flair or a style about them,” Black said. “Raimel, with how he plays the game with a little bit of what you might call some style, it’s what he does and how he plays.”

Tapia said he won’t turn milquetoast.

“Not only last night, but every night I feel I got it,” Tapia said. “I got it. Sometimes I’m not good or I don’t play. But I said, ‘You got it. No matter what.’”

Time to grind

It’s a long season, and regulars have to stay fresh. But Monday was not the day to relax. Early batting practice was heavily attended.

“Early in the year, you have an opportunity to work,” Black said. “And our guys want to shake off the early-season whatever you want to call it, lack of offense. By doing that, you’ve got to work.

“There are also times when it doesn’t hurt to back off a touch, too. Today was not that day.”