SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Spring training results mean a lot more to some players than others.
For utility player and possible second-base candidate Pat Valaika, it’s hard to overestimate how important this camp is to his Rockies future.
He’s not shrinking from the challenge.
Valaika blasted two home runs Sunday in Colorado’s 9-3 win over San Francisco at Salt River Fields. He has hit three home runs in two days, and his swing looks like the one that in 2017 powered four pinch-hit home runs and produced a major league-best 16 RBIs as a pinch hitter.