Cleveland Guardians at Colorado Rockies

It’s been an up-and-down rookie campaign for former No. 1 overall Draft pick Travis Bazzana. He enjoyed a hot start to his Major League career after being called up to make his big league debut at the end of April and was named an All-Star. But the 23-year-old second baseman began slumping at the plate in June, and he hasn’t been able to build offensive momentum since. In Friday night’s 9-1 victory in the Guardians’ series opener against the Rockies at Coors Field, Bazzana produced his second career four-hit game (also June 20 at Houston), singling four times and driving in three runs to help Cleveland win for the third time in four games. It was also the first time the Guardians have won back-to-back games since July 20 and 21. Bazzana delivered a two-run single in the fourth, singled and stole his 18th base of the season before scoring in the sixth, singled and scored again in the seventh and then lined an RBI single to right-center in the ninth. It was “one night,” as Bazzana said afterward. But it was one he’ll look to build upon as Cleveland tries to make a late postseason push. And as his rookie season continues, so does his growth -- even on rough terrain. “It’s a lot of learning experiences,” Bazzana said. “Sometimes I felt like I was trying too hard when it started to trend downwards. I’m sticking with it, and hopefully I can keep moving forward with a night like this and do that more often.” Prior to Friday’s game, Bazzana took early batting practice, and he was focused on “trying to stay through the middle a little more and drive some pitches on the outer half.” The night’s results were reflective of that intent. Of Bazzana’s four singles, one was to left, two were to center and one was to right. “We’ve talked about how he’s been going through it,” said manager Stephen Vogt. “He’s learning what it’s like for a full season. He came out early today and put in some really good work with \[hitting coach\