Rockies slugger Hunter Goodman hits 2 long homers with bat borrowed from Kyle Farmer

Winnipeg Free Press

2 days ago

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Hunter Goodman has Kyle Farmer to thank for the two long homers the Colorado slugger hit on back-to-back days at St. Louis.
Goodman borrowed Farmer's bat for the 432-foot homer he hit on Wednesday to give the Rockies a 6-5 win over the Cardinals. The All-Star catcher also used Farmer's lumber a night earlier when he sent a ball 436 feet in Colorado's 3-0 victory.
Farmer said Goodman can keep it.
'It's a gift,' Farmer said. 'I turn 35 in five days so I just keep on giving, I guess. He's got some serious juice. He's a really good hitter, a smart hitter.'
Goodman leads the Rockies with 24 homers. On Wednesday, he entered as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning and sent a 3-2 sinker from JoJo Romero into the grass beyond the center field fence.
'I was just looking for something up in the zone,' Goodman said. 'He left a sinker up the middle. I know what he's trying to do.'
It was the first pinch homer for the 25-year-old Goodman, who has gone deep five times in the last 10 games.
Goodman broke a scoreless tie on Tuesday with a two-run blast off Matthew Liberatore in the fourth inning. That one landed on the on the concourse beyond the left-field lower-deck seats.
'A shout-out to Farmer for the bat,' Goodman said. 'I couldn't have done it without his bat. I've used his bat now the last two days. I have to give him some of the credit.'
Why the switch?
'It's a long season. His bat is a little shorter than my bat so I figured I might as well try something else right now,' Goodman said. 'As the season goes on, it's now August and the dog days. You get a little tired. Sometimes adjustments like that can help.'
It helped for Goodman and the major league-worst Rockies, who had lost eight straight before the two wins over the Cardinals.
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'In these past two games, he's shown that no moment is too big for him,' Farmer said. 'He's got a slow heartbeat, and he comes up big in big moments. He's got a bright future.'
Interim manager Warren Schaeffer agreed.
'He's an All-Star for a reason,' Schaeffer said. 'He loves those situations. He wants to hit in big-time spots. That's just who he is. He's really coming into his own this season.'
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb