In baseball, three swings can often mean you're out. For Hunter Goodman on Saturday, three swings meant his first career three-home run game and a historic trip around the bases. The Rockies catcher paced the offense at Target Field, blasting three home runs in Colorado's 8-5 win against Minnesota. His offensive production helped build a 6-2 lead by the seventh and secured a monumental spot in Major League history for the 26-year-old slugger. With his third blast of the night -- a three-run shot off Twins reliever Kody Funderburk in the seventh -- Goodman reached 25 home runs on the year. He became the first National League catcher since Hall of Famer Johnny Bench in 1970 to hit at least 25 home runs in his team's first 83 games, and just the fourth catcher in Major League history overall to accomplish the feat (Seattle's Cal Raleigh last season and Texas' Ivan Rodriguez in 2000). "Those are some of the all-time greats," Goodman said of the Bench comparison. "Any time you can be mentioned in that regard with them, it’s pretty surreal." Goodman also is the first Rockies player to hit three home runs in a game since Michael Toglia against the Mets in New York on July 14, 2024. The history-making power surge underscores a trend for Goodman this season: his productivity peaks on the road. While baseball fans typically expect a hitter's numbers to surge in the thin air of Coors Field, Goodman has reversed that expectation. He is hitting nearly .100 points higher on the road (.291 away vs .193 at home), showing that his power translates effectively outside of Denver. He put that power on full display strictly with his bat, providing all of his offensive production out of the designated hitter spot on Saturday. "There's been some talk that he can't hit when he's DH'ing, but that ain't true and he showed it today," manager Warren Schaeffer said. "You can't say enough good things about Goody and what he's doing. ... When Goody gets hot, he stays hot for a while. He's a really tough guy to get out."
