ROCKIES 12, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, CALIF. • It took a disastrous start to the season and trip to the minor leagues for Sam Hilliard to realize he needed help.

It wasn’t his mechanics. Rather, he was being too hard on himself. Negative thoughts were creeping in more often than positive ones. His confidence that he exhibited earlier in his career, when he debuted in 2019 and established himself as part of their major league roster in 2020, was nearly gone.

He talked to his dad, a former surgeon who is now battling ALS, who taught him that it was OK to admit he needed help. So Hilliard reached out to the Rockies’ mental skills coach, Doug Chadwick.

“He wanted me to know that it’s OK to not be able to do this on my own,” Hilliard said of his dad. “Throughout my career, I’ve always been able to get out of a slump on my own, just keep swinging it. I really got down this year.”

He’s now a different player, he said, one who isn’t afraid to show off his confidence. He did just that on Tuesday, as he contributed to the Rockies’ 12-3 win over the Angels. Hilliard went 3 for 3, with 3 RBIS.

“There were a lot of good things,” manager Bud Black said. “We had it on.”

In Hilliard’s first at-bat back in the major leagues, he hit a single. On July 23 against the Dodgers, he hit the home run to give the Rockies the lead in the ninth inning of a tied game, flipping his bat in triumph. And on Tuesday, he hit a tworun homer to contribute to the Rockies’ blowout over the Angels, rounding the bases with a smile on his face.

Now, when Hilliard is in a stressful situation, he thinks about where he would see himself two years from now. He sees himself playing in the big leagues every day and being a guy the team can count on. He focuses on positive thoughts only, something he admitted took time for him to get to that point. The Rockies want him at the major league level — with a 6-foot-5, 240-pound frame, he has the possibility of being a left-handed power for them.

His home run Tuesday was a part of the Rockies’ biggest road blowout of the season.

Austin Gomber pitched six innings in his second start from the injured list, giving up five hits. His only two runs came from a Shohei Ohtani home run in the bottom of the fifth.

Connor Joe had three hits for the Rockies, a career-high. He also tied his career-high with three RBIS. Brendan Rodgers hit a home run, his second in as many days. Rio Ruiz, recalled from Triple-a earlier in the day, had his first hit in a Rockies uniform.