Hunter Goodman is not waiting until July 4 to generate some fireworks.
The power-hitting catcher will look to stay hot at the plate when his Colorado Rockies take on the Minnesota Twins on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. The contest marks the rubber match of a three-game weekend series.
Goodman is a huge reason why the Rockies evened the series at one win apiece on Saturday evening. He belted a career-high three home runs and tallied five RBI as Colorado held on for an 8-5 win.
The 26-year-old Goodman now has 25 home runs on the season. He is on pace to cruise past his previous career high of 31 home runs, which he set in 2025.
Goodman is joining some baseball royalty with his power surge, as well. The Rockies said he is the first catcher in the National League since Johnny Bench to hit at least 25 home runs before the All-Star break.
Bench accomplished the feat in 1970, when he had 28 homers at the break.
Two American League catchers – Ivan Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh – also hit 25-plus homers before the All-Star break. That makes Goodman the fourth overall catcher to reach the milestone.
“Those are some of the all-time greats,” Goodman said. “Any time you can be mentioned with them, it’s pretty surreal.”
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer has enjoyed a front-row seat to Goodman’s hitting prowess this season.
“When ‘Goody’ gets hot, he stays hot for a while,” Schaeffer said. “He’s a really tough guy to get out.”
Twins left-hander Connor Prielipp (2-5, 5.17 ERA) will get the unenviable task of trying to cool down Goodman’s hot bat. This will be Prielipp’s 12th start of his rookie season.
Prielipp never has faced Colorado in his brief career.
The Rockies will counter with right-hander Ryan Feltner (2-2, 4.79), who is set to make his 11th start of the season. Feltner is winless in his past four starts and is looking to notch his first victory since May 30 against the San Francisco Giants.
Feltner faced the Twins one time in his career in 2022, and the start did not go well. He took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out two.
Twins manager Derek Shelton said he remained optimistic despite the team’s recent struggles, particularly when it comes to the bullpen. He will look for a better performance from his relievers in Sunday’s rubber match.
“At some point, we’re going to have to have one guy, two guys, three guys step up and pitch well consecutively,” Shelton said. “Right now, we’re just not there.”
As an example, the Twins trailed 3-2 on Saturday before the bullpen allowed the Rockies to increase their lead to 8-2. Minnesota tried to rally with three runs in the bottom of the ninth but eventually ran out of time to try to complete the comeback.
“We have to find consistency in games we’re down 3-1, 4-1, and keeping that close,” Shelton said. “Because our offense will continue to do things.”
-Field Level Media
