Rockies beat Marlins behind career outing from Ryan Feltner, Yonathan Daza’s clutch hit

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It looked like Ryan Feltner’s gem was about to go to waste, but Yonathan Daza had other plans.

The two young players keyed a 7-1 Rockies win over the Marlins in the series opener on Monday afternoon at Coors Field. Feltner turned in the best outing of his brief career, allowing one run over seven innings, while Daza’s bases-clearing double in the bottom of the seventh provided the decisive runs.

In Feltner’s four career starts prior to Monday, he hadn’t made it past the fifth inning. But the 25-year-old, starting in place of the injured Antonio Senzatela, showed no-let up against Miami, matching pitch for pitch against right-hander Pablo Lopez, who tossed six scoreless innings. It was Feltner’s first career win.

“A lot of times, a well-pitched game is what you need to really pick you up,” manager Bud Black said. “Losing streak, tough losses, (whatever it is) — one guy can set the tone. And that guy today was Ryan. He pitched great, and he had to, because (Lopez) is really good.”

Feltner’s lone blemish was a Babe Ruth-esque stroke by Marlins center fielder Jesus Sanchez. With two outs in the second inning, Sanchez turned on Feltner’s hanging slider, launching it 496 feet to the right field party deck. The ball came off the bat at 114.7 mph and landed in front of the Coors Light Silver Bullet Bar.

“I wanted to be in attack mode today, and I think the last couple times out I’ve done that well,” Feltner said. “I feel comfortable out there right now… Sometimes pitchers have a tendency to be hesitant after (giving up a long homer), but I wanted to be in attack mode still. I stuck with my game plan.”

Sanchez’s moonshot tied with Mika Piazza’s bomb in 1997 for the second-longest home run in Coors Field history. Giancarlo Stanton holds the record with his 504-foot blast for the Marlins off right-hander Chad Bettis in 2016.

Meanwhile, C.J. Cron’s first-inning single, Garrett Hampson’s fifth-inning single and Connor Joe’s sixth-inning triple were the Rockies’ only hits off Lopez, who had five strikeouts to Feltner’s six. But Colorado broke through immediately against the Miami bullpen in the seventh against right-hander Cole Sulser.

Brendan Rodgers led off that frame with a walk, then Sam Hilliard singled and Hampson laid down a perfectly executed bunt single. That set the table for Daza, who pinch-hit for catcher Brian Serven and sent a first-pitch changeup down the left field line for a double. Charlie Blackmon then singled Daza home to make it 4-1.

“Daza’s been great for us this year,” Black said. “I knew he was going to put the bat on the ball in that situation… I thought he was more of an experienced at-bat for us there over Serven (who debuted May 18).”

Tyler Kinley worked a scoreless eighth before the Rockies added more insurance in the bottom of the inning. Hampson had a two-RBI triple before Daza hit a sacrifice fly to bring Hampson home and stretch the lead to six. Lucas Gilbreath shut the door in the ninth.

Daza said he believes the seven-game homestand is an opportunity for Colorado to recoup traction after a disappointing road trip during which the club went 2-5 in Pittsburgh and Washington.

“What happened on the road was on the road — we have to focus on the series against Miami and this week,” said Daza, who had a career-high four RBIs.

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