Nolan Arenado got the heavy lifting done early Tuesday night, blasting a first-inning, two-run homer to the left field concourse that took a single, high hop and promptly exited the stadium.
Arenado’s home run, the longest of his career at 482 feet, carried the Rockies to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener. It also gave Colorado just its second win over its last 13 games in front of a largely pro-Cardinals crowd at Coors Field, where right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez delivered his best outing of the season.
The Rockies had lost each of Gonzalez’s first nine starts, a club record, but the lack of home offense didn’t deter the right-hander from a win this time.