Jordan Beck shows more promising signs as Rockies win

DENVER — For Jordan Beck, the bursts of promise are starting to become more frequent. And on Saturday night, the bursts were twin explosions bracketing the Colorado Rockies’ night as he made two key plays in their 7-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Beck began his evening with a diving, first-inning catch of a Ryan O’Hearn line drive, preventing an extra-base hit.

He added to it in the bottom of the eighth inning by lining an 83-MPH Craig Kimbrel sweeper into center field, scoring Nolan Jones from second base for the go-ahead run.

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— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) September 1, 2024

Then he advanced to second base on a wild pitch and stole third base without a throw, allowing him to score an insurance run when catcher Drew Romo fired a comebacker off Kimbrel that deflected to Gunnar Henderson. Having advanced to third base, Beck easily scored the final run of the night.

It was the type of night that reveals Beck’s potential, even if a cursory glance at the 23-year-old’s season-long numbers at the major-league level fail to catch the eye.

After all, Jordan Beck’s average remains mired below .220. His OPS is stuck below .600.

But that doesn’t tell the story.

Beck’s first hitch with the big club ended in injury on May 25 against the Philadelphia Phillies when he broke his left hand while making a diving catch of a Nick Castellanos drive to left field.

At the time, Jordan Beck had a .190/.198/.316 line.

Since he returned to the Rockies’ lineup on Aug. 13 at Arizona, Beck has a .267/.365/.289 line. So, his power — reflected in his .289 slugging percentage — isn’t yet where he wants it to be; he has just one extra base hit since returning from the right-hand injury, a double against Miami last Tuesday night.

Last September, a good-glove/light-hitting outfielder began emerging for the Rockies at the plate. That player was Brenton Doyle, and he carried forward his September surge into a 2024 campaign that sees him emerging as a solid middle-of-the-order threat.

Colorado hopes Beck can take a similar path in this final month of the season.

As for Saturday, Beck’s heroics were followed by some ninth-inning suspense.

Reliever Tyler Kinley, who blew the save as the Rockies lost an 8-4 ninth-inning lead last Tuesday night, danced around trouble for the save, sealing the game when he struck out Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman with runners on first and third.

Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon provided another big blow for the Rockies’ taco-earning night in the fourth inning with a 2-RBI triple. Reliever Jeff Criswell worked a spotless eighth inning for his first career win.

The Rockies will go for the series win — and a winning seven-game homestand — against Baltimore on Sunday before they begin a 9-game road trip to Atlanta, Milwaukee and Detroit.