It’s been 11 years since the Colorado Rockies have traveled north of the border to Toronto Canada to play the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. In their history in Toronto, the Rockies were 0-9 at Rogers Centre, one of five teams since 1900 to be winless at one park (minimum nine games). On Friday night that broke the streak in glorious fashion as the bats came alive in a 12-4 victory to kick off their road trip.

Facing perennial Cy Young award candidate and Colorado native Kevin Gausman, the Rockies tagged him for six runs on 10 hits, driving chasing him from the game after 3 2/3 innings. The bullpen didn’t fare much better as Paolo Espino allowed four runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings and Mitch White allowed two runs on four hits in 2 innings of work. The only pitcher for Toronto that went unscathed was Genesis Cabrera who pitched a clean 2/3 of an inning.

The Rockies aren’t known for hitting on the road, but they looked more comfortable than they have in a while. Their 20 total hits were the most on the road since 2013 and their 11 extra-base hits tied a franchise record, while their nine doubles set a franchise record. Eight Rockies hitters had multi-hit games with only Michael Toglia failing to get a hit.

Ryan McMahon continued his hot start to the season going 4-for-6 with three doubles while driving in a pair of runs. Ezequiel Tovar also continues to swing a hot bat at the top of the order, going 2-for-5 with his third home run of the season. Elias Diaz also went 2-for-4 while Brenton Doyle had another three-hit night.

Perhaps more important for the Rockies were the offensive displays from three of their scuffling players. Nolan Jones, Kris Bryant, and Brendan Rodgers combined for seven hits, including three doubles, a triple from Rodgers, and Jones’ first home run of the season. Bryant and Jones also drove in two runs a piece. An offensive explosion of this caliber would provide some valuable momentum for some of the team’s most crucial pieces.

Needed this ☝️ pic.twitter.com/NKFJvJBEcW

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 12, 2024

Keep the line moving, eh? pic.twitter.com/fnsBM1cio2

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 13, 2024

The 6ix(th) pic.twitter.com/tLsP60WsBS

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 13, 2024

“You know it builds up,” Jones said in his postgame interview, “couple bad games in a row it builds up and obviously it bothers us. We want to be successful out here, we know we’re capable of being successful so some good games even some good at-bats helping the team, moving runners, quality at-bats you can definitely build upon and take into the next day.”

When you know, you NoJo pic.twitter.com/iv1O1teY6W

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 13, 2024

The offensive explosion helped back up some quality pitching on the day as the Rockies used just three arms to navigate the victory. Ryan Felter, coming off a career-best 10-strikeout game in his last start, became the first starting pitcher to earn a win for the Rockies this season after allowing just two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings of work. He gave way to Peter Lambert out the bullpen who improved to a 1.80 ERA after allowing just one hit with three strikeouts and a walk in three innings of work. The Blue Jays would scratch a couple of runs off of Tyler Kinley in the ninth, but he still delivered a decent outing.

Up Next

Dakota Hudson (0-2, 2.38 ERA) makes his third start of the year after a pair of quality outings. He’ll look to continue his success facing off against Cuban right-hander Yariel Rodriguez who will make his major league debut. The Blue Jays signed Rodriguez as an international free agent and called him up after he tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings across two starts in Triple-A, having allowed just one hit while striking out 10 and walking just three.