Baltimore Orioles at Colorado Rockies

DENVER – Rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield listened closely, then swung big, hitting a two-run homer that gave the Rockies an exhaling 4-2 victory over the Orioles at Coors Field on Tuesday night. “Baseball will whisper to you, or it will scream at you,” Rumfield said. “In that situation, it was screaming at me to do something.” The shot – left-on-left off debuting Orioles No. 7 prospect Luis De León – was his 14th homer of a season worthy of National League Rookie of the Year consideration, but his first since July 18. It was timely in that it helped the Rockies end their losing streak at six games and their club-record home losing streak at 10 games. And it came with the team 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position until that moment. But Rumfield, 26, took the power swing because it was the right one. If anything can be learned from a season in which Rumfield leads NL rookies in batting average (.290) and on-base percentage (.384), it’s that he’s not going to let a period devoid of home runs change him.  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it – I mean, everybody loves their home runs,” he said. “But like I said last week, I play baseball, not home run ball. I’m here to get on base and do whatever I need to help my team win.” Although he has no desire to play “home run ball,” Rumfield found it curious that he was playing “walk ball.” Rumfield’s 1-for-3 night with a walk made him 9-for-26 with 14 walks and just three strikeouts in his last nine games.