San Francisco Giants at Colorado Rockies

DENVER – The Rockies’ Jake McCarthy put himself squarely on the radar on Friday night. McCarthy socked two home runs – a first-pitch first-inning shot and a fifth-inning grand slam – to increase his season homer total to a career-high nine during the Rockies’ fireworks-filled 15-3 victory over the Giants. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, McCarthy became the seventh player in MLB history to have a leadoff homer and a grand slam in the same game – the first since the Blue Jays’ George Springer on Oct. 3, 2021. The only other Rockie to accomplish the feat was Charlie Blackmon on May 31, 2016. Of those seven, McCarthy is the only one to also have a stolen base in the same game. “It’s like we’re cherry-picking records,” McCarthy said with a chuckle. “No, it’s cool. Obviously, the sport’s been around a long time, so I’m honored. It’s a pretty crazy stat.” Even the sane stats say McCarthy – who also drove in a career-high six runs – is going nuts with his numbers. It’s just taken a while for the numbers to jump off the screen. McCarthy arrived in an offseason trade with the Diamondbacks, and the baseball world may have lost track of him when his batting average sat at .195 on April 19. A quiet storm has ensued since.