SAN FRANCISCO – Maybe you can get a second chance to make a first impression.
When the Rockies recalled rookie slugger Zac Veen from Triple-A Albuquerque earlier this week, they were bringing back a player who was raking in the Minors after making some significant lifestyle changes regarding substance abuse in hopes of making it back to the bigs.
Veen, Colorado’s No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, promptly crushed a homer in Arizona in his first game back, immediately rewarding the club’s decision.
He doubled up on Friday with another homer, a 406-foot rocket off Giants right-hander Landen Roupp that sailed into McCovey Cove as Veen left the batter’s box with a skip and flipped his bat toward the dugout in excitement. The blast highlighted the Rockies' 5-2 win in the series opener, their third straight victory overall.
Notably, both of Veen’s homers since being called up have landed in bodies of water, with Wednesday’s landing in the pool at Chase Field and Friday’s sailing into the Cove.
Veen cracked a smile when told about these aquatic achievements. “Yeah, maybe I did think it'd be cool to hit one into the water,” he said.
“I think it's really iconic, and I know [Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow] is retiring at the end of the year, so I thought that was really cool [that Krukow called the home run].”
Now back in a clubhouse featuring fellow promising young Rockies standouts like Cole Carrigg, Kyle Karros (currently on the injured list) and TJ Rumfield, Veen exudes the attitude and perspective of a player fully focused on getting back to work on realizing his Major League goals.
“I've had a ton of fun,” Veen said of his return. “Everybody in here has been great to me. Feel really blessed to have everybody as a friend in here. Yeah, I couldn't do without anybody in here.”
Friday’s moonshot was the fifth Splash Hit struck by a Rockie in San Francisco since the park opened in 2000, Veen joining a select group including Charlie Blackmon, Corey Dickerson and Carlos Gonzalez (twice). It was also the 69th slugged by an opposing batter overall in the history of the ballpark.
Pregame, manager Warren Schaeffer spoke of Veen changing his priorities in order to “get himself right off the field,” the results being his return to the Majors this week.
“He's ready to play,” Schaeffer said of Veen postgame. “He's prepared. He's showing really good signs. It was good to see. … It just goes to show, like we talked about pregame, about his preparation and how he's ready to hit against any given pitcher at any given time.”
Also instrumental to Friday’s victory was a stellar outing from lefty Kyle Freeland.
The Rockies’ rotation stalwart was making his 30th career start against the Giants – his most versus any opponent – and he held them to four hits and one run in eight innings, striking out two on 95 pitches.
And though Freeland wasn’t aware of the specifics of his history against San Francisco, he said he feels pretty comfortable on each of the opposing mounds around the division.
That’s a byproduct of pitching for the Rockies for 10 seasons.
All told, Freeland is 9-10 with a 4.25 ERA in those 30 starts against the Giants after Friday’s gem.
It was Freeland’s 69th career victory, third most all-time in Rockies history. He broke a tie with former teammate Germán Márquez on that list, with only Aaron Cook (72) and Jorge De La Rosa (86) ahead of him.
“It means a ton,” Freeland said. “Climbing that ladder, chasing friends of mine, guys that I grew up watching. It’s pretty cool to be a part of, to be able to say that out loud as a hometown kid, climbing up this leaderboard. It means the world to me, being able to tie guys up, surpass them on milestone marks. It's amazing.”