After trailing in 31 consecutive games to begin the season and set a modern-era baseball record, the Colorado Rockies finally obtained a lead and held on to it for an entire game as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Friday.

It was going to be an interesting series as both teams have been struggling mightily at the plate, meaning there was going to be very little in terms of offense to score runs and that was exactly the case in game one.

The Rockies scattered 12 hits but mustered just three runs, all of which came in a single inning in the sixth. In a scoreless game, Ryan McMahon led off the inning with a monstrous blast to right field that landed in the Allegheny River. He became the 49th player (71 times) to reach the river and just the second Rockie to do it since Hall of Famer Todd Helton did so on May 4, 2001. He ended up going 2-for-5 on the day with a pair of strikeouts. The Rockies added a pair of runs after Elias Diaz followed up McMahon’s home run with a double, followed by an RBI single from Elehuris Montero. Brendan Rodgers capped off the inning with a 12-pitch at-bat that resulted in an RBI single to score Montero and give the Rockies a 3-0 lead.

Ryan McMahon – Colorado Rockies (5) pic.twitter.com/M4AenbFn8e

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 4, 2024

⚾Ryan McMahon, @Ry_McMahon! HR (5)

5/3/24 @ PIT, ⬆️ 6th
vs LHP Martín Pérez

112.2 MPH / 34° / 445 ft to RF
Off a 83.3 MPH changeup

▶️It's a home run in 30/30 parks.◀️

📺: https://t.co/mGGfFxO8aA pic.twitter.com/W2d1yAWqkQ

— Home Run Report (@homerunreport) May 4, 2024

Martín Pérez started on the hill for the Pirates and ended up going 5 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. The Pirates bullpen locked things down with 4 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

The Rockies failed to draw a single walk while striking out nine times but did at least managed to to go 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit except for rookie Jordan Beck who struck out three times. Ezequiel Tovar, McMahon, Diaz, and Jacob Stallings all had multi-hit games on the night.

Those three runs ended up being just enough as they got an excellent performance from starter Cal Quantrill. Quantrill cruised through 7 2/3 innings scoreless innings becoming just the third Rockie in franchise history to go seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and zero walks. He also became just the second starting pitcher this season to earn a victory for the Rockies.

Count 'em! pic.twitter.com/ARMp7pTPoZ

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 4, 2024

Following Quantrill’s exit in the eighth at 99 pitches, Jake Bird worked to get the final out and one out in the ninth. He ran into some trouble after giving up two walks in his outing, specifically the walk he issued to begin the ninth. After a groundout of Ke’Bryan Hayes, the Rockies turned to Jalen Beeks who promptly gave up a two-run home run to Oneil Cruz to make a 3-2 ball game. Fortunately, Beeks rallied to strike out Connor Joe and Jared Triolo to secure the save and Rockies victory.

Up Next

The Rockies look to Austin Gomber to continue his string of strong starters as he faces off against stellar young pitcher Jared Jones. The Pirates have now lost eight of their last 10 games as the Rockies broke their five-game losing streak.