MINNEAPOLIS — Colorado Rockies designated hitter Hunter Goodman hit three long home runs in an 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Goodman, who drove in five runs in the win, crushed two no-doubters — solo shots in the first and third innings — in his first two at-bats against Twins starter Mike Paredes. The first blast reached the third deck in left field, a Statcast-estimated 428 feet away. Goodman hit another that also went an estimated 428 feet, settling in the bullpens beyond the wall in left-center.
Then, after grounding out in the fifth, Goodman came up with two runners on base and the Rockies leading 3-2 in the seventh. He worked the count full, then hammered a high sinker from Kody Funderburk 401 feet into the seats in left-center.
“When Goody gets hot, he stays hot for a while,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He’s a really tough guy to get out.”
Goodman also hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning Friday to briefly give Colorado the lead before the Twins rallied to pull out a 9-8 win in 10 innings. That 451-foot blast was the longest home run of the day, according to Baseball Savant.
On Saturday, Kyle Karros added a two-run homer in the eighth, as the Rockies bounced back. And Michael Lorenzen (3-9) allowed just two runs and seven hits in 5⅔ innings to earn his first win since April 24.
“It’s one of the most powerful swings in the game, and it shows,” Karros said of Goodman. “When he’s hot, he’s hot.”
The 26-year-old slugger has 25 home runs this season after hitting a career-best 31 blasts last year. Goodman, whose primary position is catcher, became the fourth backstop to reach 25 home runs before the All-Star break, joining Cal Raleigh, Ivan Rodriguez and Johnny Bench.
“Those are some of the all-time greats,” Goodman said, “and any time you can be mentioned with them, it’s pretty surreal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
