Under the clear desert sky and scorching sun of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Colorado Rockies offense put on a fireworks show to close out a three-game series against the Athletics and avoid a sweep. The Athletics were hosting six games at Las Vegas Ballpark—home of the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators—to give fans a preview for when the team moves to Sin City full time.
Across those six games, there were a combined 35 home runs hit. The Rockies added a few of their own in a 23-9 blowout.
Sugano struggles but gets the job done.
The unthinkable happend
to Rockies starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) in today’s scorcher: He gave up a multi-run home run for the first time this season. All 12 of his previous home runs had been solo shots. The offending blast came in the bottom of Sugano’s final inning of the day with two outs.
Not much went right for Sugano. Under the high skies of Las Vegas, the ball was either rocketing into the outfield or getting lost in the sun. Multiple plays fell apart simply because an infielder or outfielder could not track the baseball in the cloudless sky.
Sugano gave up eight earned runs on nine hits and he tallied two walks and two strikeouts against the Athletics. His ERA—4.08 entering the game—settled at 4.79 once his five innings of work were complete.
Despite the struggles, Sugano still left the game in line for a a win on the scoresheet. His seventh win is the current most among the Rockies pitching staff. Antonio Senzatela is second with six.
Castellano’s MLB debut helps the bullpen get the job done
All the Rockies bullpen had to do in relief of Tomoyuki Sugano was keep the damage to a minimum while the offense continued to rack up hits. Said bullpen held the Athletics to just one run in four total innings of work. The run came via a solo home run against Blas Castañ0, who gave up the one earned run on two hits.
Right-handed pitcher Eiberson Castellano—usually a starter—made his Major League debut after being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque this weekend. Castellano pitched three shutout innings, giving up four hits and tallying his first two career strikeouts. His three innings of work to close out the game also earned him his first career save.
Bats as hot as the sun
When both the Rockies and Athletics scored five runs each in the first two innings, it was obvious this would end up a high-scoring game. However, the high skies in Las Vegas seemed to give a tired and heat-weary Athletics squad much more trouble in the field, and the Rockies eventually smashed the pedal to the floor and never let up.
In the first inning, Tyler Freeman reached on a throwing error from Athletics third baseman Max Muncy (no, not that one). Hunter Goodman—who had been hitless in the first two games of the series—got a hold of a four-seam fastball and crushed it over the outfield pool that was at the time playing host to one Ryan “Spillagus” Spilborghs.
The second inning then kicked off with back-to-back singles by Cole Carrigg and Kyle Karros to set the table. Troy Johnston drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and Willi Castro—batting right-handed—slugged the Rockies’ second home run in as many innings.
In the top of the fourth, Carrigg and Karros once again went back-to-back. Carrigg reached on an infield single while Karros drove him home with a double. After that, it was time for yet another home run. This time it was Troy Johnston hitting his third of the season, putting the Rockies ahead with a lead they would not relinquish.
However, when it’s this hot and the ball is flying, you can’t let up.
The Rockies continued their offensive onslaught with a six-run fifth inning that started with Hunter Goodman hitting his second home run of the game and 20th of the season thus far. Singles from Ezequiel Tovar, Karros, and Castro, a walk drawn by Carrigg, a Troy Johnston double and a Tyler Freeman triple gave the Rockies 14 runs.
There were still four innings left to play.
Four more runs would come across in the seventh inning with a Braxton Fulford double, a Willi Castro single, a Tyler Freeman RBI fielder’s choice, the incredibly rare TJ Rumfield triple, and back-to-back doubles off the bats of Hunter Goodman and Ezequiel Tovar.
It was 18-8, and the Rockies weren’t done.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Rockies quickly loaded the bases with a single and two walks. Willi Castro—now batting left-handed—worked a full count before taking a hung curveball 444 feet for a grand slam.
The Athletics finally waved the white flag, bringing in outfielder Carlos Cortes to record the final five outs of the game… but not before TJ Rumfield left the park for the Rockies’ sixth and final home run of the game.
When all was said and done, the Colorado Rockies scored 23 runs on 24 hits. Every member of the starting lineup recorded at least one hit, and seven of them recorded multi-hit games. Every member of the starting lineup crossed home plate at least once, and eight of them did so two or more times. Cole Carrigg was the only member of the starting lineup to not record an RBI, and he still went 2-for-5 with a walk and three runs scored.
It’s also worth noting that the fabulous purple home run coat stayed on the hanger due to high temperatures.
Obviously Hunter Goodman and Willi Castro were the stars of the game. Goodman’s five hits were a career high and his 12 total bases were both a career high—beating his previous best of 11 from 2024—and a Rockies franchise record for total bases by a catcher. Castro, meanwhile, had his fourth multi-homer game of his career while going 4-for-6 and hitting those home runs from both sides of the plate. His grand slam was the first of his career.
Ryan Spilborghs may have been kicked out of the pool, but the Rockies still went 24-for-50 at the plate, drew five walks, struck out just seven times, and set a few franchise benchmarks along the way.
The Rockies’ 23 runs scored is a new franchise record—both at home and on the road—tied a franchise record for hits in a nine inning game, and their 13 extra-base hits represent the most they have hit as a franchise in a road game.
Coming Up Next
The Rockies pitching staff will surely appreciate the change of scenery—though the bats might not—as the team heads to the Windy City for a three game series against the Chicago Cubs.
Monday’s game will feature righty Michel Lorenzen, who is coming off one of his best starts as a Rockies pitcher—against Shota “The Throwing Philosopher” Imanaga. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM MDT.
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