WATCH: Blackmon Hits Huge Homer, Rockies Snap Nationals' Win Streak
DENVER (The Sports Xchange) - The moment Charlie Blackmon made contact, the dugout frenzy began.
The center fielder hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies overcame a three-run deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 8-4 on Monday, ending the Nationals' seven-game winning streak.
Blackmon's sixth homer of the season soared into the second deck in right field. The two-out hit gave the Rockies a 5-4 lead and caused the Colorado dugout to erupt.
"Right when he hit it, the dugout collectively -- just a huge 'yeah,'" Rockies manager Bud Black said. "Just a huge one. It was great. Great swing, squared it up."
The Rockies pulled away with a three-run eighth, a rally that began with five consecutive singles off Blake Treinen. The spree included RBIs from Trevor Story, on a broken-bat hit, and on Tony Wolters' third single. Blackmon picked up his third RBI of the game by grounding into a run-scoring force play to complete the scoring.
The victory was the fourth straight and seventh in eight games for the Rockies. Their 14-6 record matches the 2011 team for the second-best start in franchise history. The Rockies began the 1997 season 15-5.
What proved to be the game-winning rally in the seventh began when pinch hitter Pat Valaika turned on left-hander Enny Romero's 96 mph fastball and lined it into the left-field corner for a two-out double. It was Valaika's first hit of the season in his second game and second at-bat.
Blackmon followed with his third homer in four games, reaching down for a slider from Romero (1-1) and hitting it 417 feet.
"He pitched outstanding in New York (over the weekend) against some pretty good hitters," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said of Romero. "He gave up a homer to a pretty good hitter in Charlie Blackmon. The hitters get paid just like our guys get paid. Every pitch isn't a bad pitch."
The Nationals got six innings from spot starter Jacob Turner, who gave up six hits and three runs with no walks and six strikeouts. He threw 59 of his 84 pitches for strikes. Turner allowed a run-scoring single to Wolters with two outs in the second.
Mark Reynolds' two-out, two-run home run in the sixth trimmed the Nationals' lead to 4-3. The homer was Reynolds' sixth this season.
"Boy, I thought (Turner) had a chance to get out of that inning, and it was going to go into the seventh," Baker said. "That would have really been nice. He gave us all he had. He threw strikes. He threw quality strikes, all except to Reynolds, who's known to hit the ball out of the ballpark. He's been doing that for years."
Held to two singles by Tyler Anderson through five innings, the Nationals struck quickly for four runs in the sixth when they hit for the cycle and knocked out the left-hander. Anderson has yet to complete six innings in any of his five starts this season.
Anderson was the first left-handed starter the Nationals have faced this year. He took the mound with a 7.32 ERA this season, but for five innings, he resembled the pitcher he was during his rookie season of 2016, when he compiled a 3.54 ERA in 114 1/3 innings.
"That was probably for me the best that I saw Tyler string pitches together the whole night," Black said. "His fastball-change combination is his best stuff, and then you mix in the slider-cutter. The change was devastating."
Washington's rally in the sixth began when Trea Turner doubled with one out, and Adam Eaton followed with a triple on an 0-2 cutter. Those were the first two extra-base hits of the game, and both were hit a long way to center field.
Anthony Rendon poked a 3-1 changeup into right, an opposite-field single that put the Nationals ahead. And with two outs, Ryan Zimmerman walloped his seventh homer, a two-run shot that soared an estimated 425 feet over the fence in center and gave the Nationals a 4-1 lead.
"I feel like it was definitely a step in the right direction in terms of command and stuff and locating the way I want to," said Anderson, who allowed four runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. "There was a lot less mistakes early on until the sixth inning, and that's when I started to make some mistakes and they started getting hits. That just shows you that that's how important command is."
Carlos Estevez (2-0) relieved Anderson and retired the four batters he faced, two on strikeouts. Adam Ottavino and Greg Holland each worked a scoreless inning, as the ERA for the Rockies' relievers dipped to 2.63.
NOTES: Nationals RHP Jacob Turner had his contract selected from Triple-A Syracuse before the game. He took the roster spot of RHP Stephen Strasburg, who was placed on the paternity list. ... Rockies CF Charlie Blackmon extended his hitting streak to nine games. ... Colorado 1B Ian Desmond (fractured left hand) took batting practice for the first time since he was hit by a pitch March 12. ... Rockies RHP German Marquez joined the team and will be officially recalled Tuesday and start that game. ... Nationals RF Bryce Harper, who was named National League player of the week, and C Matt Wieters were given a rest. Harper grounded out as a pinch hitter to end the game.