'I just synced up': Beck's 3-homer day in DH a welcome sign

KANSAS CITY -- Jordan Beck's three-homer doubleheader on Thursday stood as the Rockies’ best moments of an otherwise deflating doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Royals.

Beck went deep in the 7-4 twin-bill opener loss, and his two homers provided the only runs in a 6-2 loss in the second game.

Beck became the second Rockies player to homer three times in a doubleheader. He joined Larry Walker, who accomplished the feat in a sweep of the Reds on June 3, 1999. He is the first Rockies player to homer in both games of a doubleheader since Stephen Cardullo, who hit the only two homers of his Major League career on his 24th birthday, Aug. 31, 2016 against the Dodgers.

The Rockies were swept in the three-game series, and their 13-game road losing streak matches their club-record skid (May 10-June 2, 2008). Despite the lack of wins, the Rockies are still looking for steps forward.

Beck, the 38th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Tennessee, made the Opening Day roster but experienced a brief option to Triple-A Albuquerque. He believes he has found traction with some hitting adjustments. His 4-for-6 performance across both games lifted his batting average from .167 to .250.

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“Watching some video, I was seeing that I didn’t really have too much rhythm going on in my swing,” Beck said. “Seeing [at-bats] from years past, I had some rhythm. I tried to add some rhythm with my barrel. Today, I just synced up.

“It gives a good boost of confidence. We got swept this series. We’re trying to find any way we can to win. We’ve just got to figure it out.”

Beck debuted in late April last year, but a broken left hand sustained in late May truncated his experience. He finished with a .188/.245/.276 slash line with three homers in 55 games.

Two of the homers, one each off first-game starter Cole Ragans and second-game starter Michael Lorenzen were on fastballs -- the pitch that beat him consistently enough that the Rockies decided to send him down. For his third homer, he adjusted to a changeup from Daniel Lynch IV.

“It was good to see Jordan turn on a fastball -- something that we’ve tried to get him aware of, and not guess on pitches,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “All Major League hitters have to be able to hit the fastball, because you get exposed awful quickly [if you can’t]. That’s what’s happening to our young hitters over the last month or so.

“With Jordan, we felt as though when he came back he was in a better spot, even though his numbers [.143 with a home run in eight Triple-A games] didn’t reflect it. We sent him down with a high priority to understand the fastball. Hopefully, today might cement a few thoughts for him as it relates to a Major League fastball.”