Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer likes to talk about his young club’s “resiliency.” Oftentimes, it’s just window dressing.

Not on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning to lift the Rockies to a 6-5 comeback victory over the Cardinals. Goodman launched closer JoJo Romero’s 3-1 sinker 436 feet to dead center. Rookie third baseman Kyle Karros set up Goodman’s game-winner by drawing a leadoff walk off Romero.

“I was just trying to get on for (Goodman),” Karros told Rockies.TV. “It was just super cool to be a part of. I wanted to get on base and let my teammates do the work.”

Goodman became the first Rockies player to hit a go-ahead, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning or later since Ryan McMahon on Sept. 9, 2021, at Philadelphia. McMahon hit a two-run homer in the ninth in Colorado’s 4-3 victory.

Goodman has homered in five of his last 10 games and six of 13. He’s just four home runs shy of tying Wilin Rosario for the most homers by a catcher in franchise history. Rosario hit 28 in 2012.

The Rockies rallied from a 5-2 deficit to clinch the three-game series after winning on Tuesday night to snap an eight-game skid. Colorado won four of six games against the Cardinals this season, taking the season series for the first time since 2009.The Rockies (32-88) are 6-33 in all series this season but 2-0 vs. the Redbirds.

“We had lost eight in a row and the boys kept fighting,” Schaeffer told reporters. “That’s what it’s all about. That was fun today.”

Closer Victor Vodnik set the Cardinals down in order in the ninth to post his fourth save. He notched a five-out save in Colorado’s 3-0 win on Tuesday night.

In Wednesday’s matinee, the pesky Rockies kept chipping their way back into the game.

Ezequiel Tovar’s single scored Tyler Freeman in the fourth. Karros, who’s hitting .333 in his infant career after going 2 for 3, opened the fifth with a leadoff single, took third on Yanquiel Frenandez’s single, and scored on Braxton Fulford’s groundout.

Mickey Moniak’s leadoff homer to right field trimmed St. Louis’ lead to 5-3 in the sixth.

Karros, who reached base three times as the leadoff hitter and scored all three times, sparked another mini-rally in the seventh. He hit a leadoff double, took third on a wild pitch by Kyle Leahy, and scored on Braxton Fulford’s sacrifice fly to center.

Per usual, the Rockies fell behind early. Left-handed starter Austin Gomber never imploded, but he wasn’t very effective. The Cardinals tagged him for five runs on nine hits over five innings, leaving him with a 6.75 ERA.

Three big swings hurt Gomber. No. 9 hitter Pedro Pages ripped a two-out, two-run double to left in the second inning to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead. Lars Nootbaar’s leadoff homer put the Cardinals ahead, 3-1, in the fourth. The most painful blow was Alex Burleson’s two-run homer to right in the fifth that stretched the Cardinals’ lead to 5-2.

Colorado’s bullpen, which has struggled mightily in the second half of the season, kept the Rockies in Wednesday’s game. Nick Anderson, Jaden Hill and Jimmy Herget all pitched a perfect inning, combining for six strikeouts.

“From the sixth inning on, they came in and didn’t allow one runner,” Schaeffer said. “They did a great job. Guys stepped up in big situations, like Anderson and Hill. That’s what we need. We have guys who are earning a role, and they did a good job (today), giving us a chance.”

The Rockies return to Denver on Thursday to open a four-game set with the Diamondbacks at Coors Field.

Thursday’s pitching matchup

Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-7, 5.68 ERA) at Rockies RHP Bradley Blalock (1-3, 7.89)

6:40 p.m. Thursday, Coors Field

TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM

Trending: Rookie third baseman Kyle Karros went 2 for 3 on Wednesday and has hit safely in five of his first six major league games, batting 7 for 21 (.333), with three doubles and three RBIs. He recorded an RBI single in his first plate appearance last Friday, the first Rockie to do so since Corey Dickerson on June 22, 2013.

Pitching probables

Friday: Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (12-7, 5.03) at Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (2-5, 8.37), 6:40 p.m.

Saturday: Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-3, 3.46) at Rockies RHP Chase Dollander (2-9, 6.35), 6:10 p.m.

Sunday: Diamondbacks TBA at Rockies TBA, 1:10 p.m.

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Originally Published: August 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM MDT