TJ Rumfield blasts go-ahead homer in victory

Rumfield, who had nine walks in the series, would have a Moneyball movie role waiting for him on a better team. He’s batting a hilarious .239/.426/.283 over his past 15 games.

Rumfield scored the Rockies only two runs – both via Troy Johnston groundouts – in a game where they had 10 hits versus four by the Cardinals. Alas, Rumfield is now up to a .296 batting average and .374 on-base percentage as a rookie. Each of those marks are top-10 among all players in the National League.

He’ll take a seat against LHP Shane Drohan. Rumfield’s only slugging .410 in 18 July games with one homer, but he’s still hitting .317 with a .417 on-base percentage in those games. Troy Johnston, another lefty bat, is manning first base for Rumfield today.

It’s both Rumfield’s first four-hit game and his first four-RBI game. The homer came off reliever Caleb Ferguson, making it his second off a left-hander in 116 plate appearances this season. He had been without a home run since June 21, but it wasn’t mattering much; he hit .351 over 21 games during the span anyway. He’s now eighth in the majors with a .302 average and 17th with an .868 OPS. His mediocre exit velocity numbers don’t really back those figures up, but he’s been a big find for a player who was passed over in the Rule 5 draft before being acquired from the Yankees.

The Rockies were down 8-1 through seven today, but they tried to make a game of it with Rumfield’s homer off Dennis Santana and two more runs against Gregory Soto in the ninth. Taking advantage of the conditions in Coors and in the series in Las Vegas against the A’s, Rumfield is 15-for-42 with five homers in his last 11 games, raising his OPS from .759 to .842.

Rumfield absolutely demolished his 11th home run of the season. It traveled an estimated 427 feet into the upper deck in Coors Field. That was his fourth homer this season that’s gone at least 420 feet, which is more raw power than Rumfield’s underlying stats would indicate. He has a .278/.355/.475 slash line in what’s been an excellent rookie season thus far for the 27-year-old lefty.

Rumfield hit one of the six homers for the Rockies in a 23-run onslaught. The homer was his ninth of the season, while his triple was his second of 2026. Rumfield has been a very nice surprise for Colorado in 2026, and his slash increased to .280/.361/.445 with the pair of extra-base hits.

Rumfield’s blast gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead which they promptly blew in the top of the ninth. However, they came back in the bottom of the ninth to win the game on Sterlin Thompson’s pinch-hit single. Rumfield’s homer was his eighth of the year, and he also had a single tonight. His .269/.349/.426 line is plenty solid, but his 14th-percentile bat speed and fifth-percentile average exit velocity don’t really bode well for him becoming a long-term option for the Rockies. He has value in 12- and 14-team leagues at the moment, but the team shouldn’t hesitate to have him step aside when it’s time to give Charlie Condon a look.

Rumfield returns to Colorado’s lineup at DH following a two-game absence due to right shoulder inflammation. The 26-year-old rookie slugger has .284/.360/.443 with seven homers and 29 RBI through 58 games this season.

Rumfield remains out of Colorado’s lineup after being a late scratch from Sunday’s series finale against the Giants with right shoulder inflammation. The 26-year-old rookie standout missed one game last week with a hand contusion. It’ll be Edouard Julien taking over at the cold corner in his place.