Baltimore Orioles at Colorado Rockies

DENVER – Like a kid with presents all over the place at Christmas, Adael Amador felt so much joy upon scoring the winning run in the Rockies’ 6-5, 11-inning victory over the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon that he truly didn’t know where to go to rejoice. After sliding into home on Brett Sullivan’s two-run single, he first removed his helmet and tossed it skyward while smiling at teammate Troy Johnston. But it wasn’t a full-throttle celebration as Johnston ran toward Sullivan, who was about to be mobbed in short-center at Coors Field. Amador joined that party that handed the Rockies their first series triumph since Aug. 14-16 at San Francisco.​ Why shouldn’t Amador be overcome with boyish joy? At 23, he is not only the youngest player on the team, but the youngest on the 40-man roster. It just doesn’t seem that way. “There are times when it passes in my head that I am so young, still one of the youngest in this clubhouse,” Amador said, with Edwin Perez interpreting. But life has happened fast. Beyond some head-spinning career moves, Amador is beyond his rookie year as a parent. He and his wife, Yesenia Amador, welcomed a daughter, Adelinda, on Jan. 12, 2025. “That matures you quickly, right?” he said. “But there are times, definitely, where I have to remind myself of my age, because it quickly passes. Through experiences, through everything that I’ve been through -- all the hardships -- that I don’t feel like the youngest.” Amador just seems older because he has been around so long. He arrived in June 2024, fresh from Double-A Hartford for a 10-game debut that ended with an oblique injury. Last year, he bounced between Triple-A Albuquerque and the Rockies, for whom he batted .177 in 41 games.