ST. LOUIS -- Adael Amador dispensed with the waiting when he called his father on Saturday morning. Amador, an infielder just turning hot at Double-A Hartford, was heading to St. Louis for his Major League debut.

¡°I didn¡¯t even tell him that I had something to tell him,¡± Amador said in Spanish with bullpen catcher Aaron Mu?oz interpreting. ¡°I just told him.¡±

Amador, the No. 1 prospect in the Rockies' system and No. 32 overall according to MLB Pipeline, showed during Sunday¡¯s 5-1 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium that he¡¯s not a beat-around-the-bush kind of guy.

On the first pitch of his first at-bat, Amador lofted a single into right field. Shortly thereafter, Amador stole second -- employing a swim move to avoid a tag by Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn to reach the bag, and survive a St. Louis challenge.

Add to that a sliding play on a grounder to his left to retire Brendan Donovan in the seventh, and it added up to a solid day for Amador, who went 1-for-3 with a strikeout while playing second base.

Second baseman Brendan Rodgers¡¯ left hamstring strain -- the reason Amador was brought in -- is not expected to be a long-term injury. Whether Rodgers is back on June 18, the end of his 10-day injured list term, or if it takes 3-4 weeks, the belief is Amador is with the club to show what he has learned and what¡¯s more to learn.

?What to expect from Adael Amador in the Majors

The newness of the Majors was apparent in Amador¡¯s at-bats Sunday.

Strike zone awareness has been a signature trait for the switch-hitting Amador. In 277 career Minor League games, Amador has more walks (186) than strikeouts (172) -- unusual in a sport full of hitters trained by launch angle pushers who trade whiffs for manufactured lifts. Despite a slow start at Hartford, Amador had a still-desirable 33 walks to 39 strikeouts at the time of his callup.

But on Sunday, he saw a total of seven pitches. The fifth-inning strikeout against Cardinals starter Andre Pallante included swings at two pitches well below the zone.

¡°He was probably a little amped up,¡± Rockies manager Bud Black said. ¡°The strike zone control, the Minor League walks, we saw him expand a little bit today, which is out of his norm. That will probably quiet down as each day goes on.

¡°That was the thing we didn¡¯t see from him in Spring Training, but I¡¯m sure he was fired up today to get hits and get the bat started.¡±

Amador, 21, arrived with a .194 batting average in 46 games, but he was competitive for the last 24 games and on fire for his last nine (.359/.422/.846 with six of his seven total home runs). Amador¡¯s goal will be to show the Majors that he can ignore the pitch outside the strike zone and crush the one within it.

¡°It¡¯s always been that way,¡± Amador said. ¡°I feel comfortable taking pitches. I want to continue swinging at good pitches and luckily it¡¯s been working out.¡±

Amador smiled at the thought of being able to tell his father, Placido Alexander, who played some baseball but not at the pro level because of a knee injury, that he was about to realize a dream.

¡°He¡¯s been with me since I was little, taking me to games and taking me to the park,¡± said Amador, from Santiago, Dominican Republic. ¡°He¡¯s been with me from Day One.¡±

Every day in the Majors is special, but the Rockies want to give Amador enough opportunities so that the Majors become a little less of a new experience and more like the happy and carefree days when his father was taking him to the field.

¡°We¡¯re going to get him some starts,¡± Black said. ¡°We want to get him acclimated. This was good for him -- a good crowd on a Sunday afternoon, nice energy in the park.

¡°These are all steps for him to start his career. These little steps and positive notes along the way will only help the player.¡±