Jake McCarthy homers, knocks in three versus Cards

McCarthy joins Corbin Carroll in the 30/10 club this year. He’s the first Rockie with 10 triples since Charlie Blackmon had 14 in his career year in 2017. Before that, both Dexter Fowler and Tyler Colvin got there in 2012.

McCarthy’s long ball was a solo shot off Tyler Mahle in the sixth inning, trimming Colorado’s deficit to 2-1. He’s up to 14 homers and 25 stolen bases and has hit leadoff in every game for the Rockies since July 8. McCarthy also carries an excellent .290 batting average into a six-game homestand at Coors that begins Monday.

Carrigg has hit a bit of a rough patch recently, hitting .230 (17-for-74) with zero homers and four steals across 20 games since the start of August. It’ll be Ezequiel Tovar handling shortstop with Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy and Zac Veen in the outfield for this one. The 24-year-old rookie offers enough all-around fantasy production to hang onto a roster spot in deeper mixed leagues, but can be cut loose in shallow formats with five weeks left on the calendar.

McCarthy also singled twice in the monster fantasy game. The 29-year-old has been outstanding for the Rockies in 2026, and the pair of homers gives him 13 to go with 20 thefts on the campaign. Add in a healthy slash of .305/.341/.516, and you get assuredly one of the best waiver pickups of the 2026 season. It’s worth noting that there were some solid moments with the Diamondbacks before his departure, so this isn’t entirely out of nowhere. The question is if this is real, or if this is the new Nolan Jones/Brenton Doyle.

Sometimes, for fantasy managers, the best trades are the ones that are never made. McCarthy’s name came up in some deadline rumors, but he remained in Colorado where he’s enjoyed a breakout season and can continue to call Coors Field home for the next two months. His stolen base here was his 18th of the season to go along with 11 home runs and an .821 OPS.

McCarthy took Aaron Bummer deep to extend the Rockies’ lead to 7-1 in the sixth inning. The 29-year-old has homered 11 times in 2026 while driving in 62 in his 97 games. McCarthy won’t be eligible for free agency for another two years, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Rockies looked to sell high on McCarthy before Monday’s deadline. Far from a guarantee, but possible.

McCarthy’s 387-foot shot to Triples Alley would been a natural homer in 20 ballparks, though it wasn’t close to one at Oracle Park. It bounced off the warning track and then off the wall before Jung Hoo Lee gathered it. Lee definitely could have played it better and held him to a triple, but as it was, McCarthy beat the throw home. It’s his 10th home run, and he’ll enter the second half with a nice .301/.347/.516 line in 307 plate appearances.

Talk about stuffing the stat sheet. McCarthy was an unstoppable force here. He started the game off with a loud 440 foot homer on the first pitch Logan Webb threw and smashed a 427 foot grand slam later on in the fifth inning. Between those, he was in the middle of a couple more rallies and has been scalding hot for a while now with seven home runs, five stolen bases, and a .347/.379/.621 slash line over his last 30 games. He’s also hit lead-off against the last 13 right-handed pitchers his Rockies have faced. That’s not too shabby!

McCarthy has had three four-RBI games in the last two months, matching his total from his first five seasons. The homer was his seventh, leaving him one shy of his career high. He has 28 extra-base hits in 264 plate appearances this season, matching his career-high total from a 2024 season in which he had 495 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks.

McCarthy led off the sixth inning with a double off of Taj Bradley but never advanced past second base. He then singled and scored on an RBI single by TJ Rumfield during the Rockies’ three-run rally in the eighth inning. He then clubbed a two-run homer during a five-run ninth inning. For the season, the 28-year-old outfielder is now hitting an impressive .303/.343/.486 with six homers, 34 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 239 plate appearances.