Elias Díaz, Ezequiel Tovar lead Colorado Rockies to win over Mets
The best position player for the Colorado Rockies so far this season will come as a surprise to most.
It’s not Kris Bryant, who is on a seven-year, $180 million contract. Not Charlie Blackmon either, who has been the face of the team for the past decade. The right answer isn’t C.J. Cron, last year’s lone All-Star, or Ryan McMahon, the two-time Gold Glove Award nominee.
Nope. That honor likely belongs to catcher Elias Díaz.
That was the case again on Saturday, as Díaz led the Rockies to a 5-2 win over the Mets. Díaz had two RBI’s, his pair of RBI singles giving the Rockies the advantage.
“Right now I feel great,” Díaz said earlier this week. “I go day by day and try to do my best to win the game.”
Díaz’s 1.1 WAR (wins above replacement) is second on the team only to starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (1.3). The next closest position player is Randal Grichuk at 0.6, and he’s only played six games so far this season. Díaz’s .343 batting average is in the top five in MLB among qualified hitters and first among catchers. He’s played in all but three of the Rockies games this season.
Díaz has had hot streaks before, like the second half of the 2021 season when he hit .274 with 11 home runs. He was rewarded with a 3-year, $14.5 million contract extension, but he wasn’t able to carry the success from the end of the 2021 season into 2022.
This year, though, has been different.
He’s mentally in a better place, he said, which has translated to his playing. The key is simple: being happy and always having a smile on his face.
“I try to be positive every day and not to worry about things I can’t control,” Díaz said. “I try to be the best person every day.”
Tovar’s stellar day
April wasn’t pretty for rookie shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. He blossomed in May, though.
The Rockies believed that Tovar would put the pieces together, not even considering optioning him despite a high strikeout percentage. The team stayed patient, and now it is being rewarded. Tovar had a three-hit day on Saturday, with a single, double and a home run. The homer — which just squeaked right of the left field foul pole — was Tovar’s second of the week.
“Right now I’ve been feeling good,” Tovar said to AT&T Sports through assistant hitting coach Andy González, who translated the interview. “I’ve been working hard in the cage and getting more confident at the plate. Results are coming now. I’m feeling good and working hard.”
What happened: Austin Gomber continued his stellar turnaround. Since giving up 22 earned runs in his first 16.1 innings of the season, Gomber has allowed just three earned runs. He was sharp on Saturday, and got some help from Ezequiel Tovar and Elias Díaz in the Rockies’ 5-2 win over the Mets.
On the mound: Gomber pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits. Tylor Megill struggled to find the strike zone early but still gave up only three runs in 4⅔ innings for the Mets.
At the plate: Tovar had a three-hit day, while Díaz had two.
What’s next: Colorado Rockies (RHP Ryan Feltner, 2-2, 4.45) at New York Mets (TBD) at 11:40 a.m. MT Saturday (AT&T SportsNet)
Colorado Rockies Ezequiel Tovar runs the bases after his sixth inning homer against the New York Mets, Saturday, May 6, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)