The Colorado Rockies put together one of their most complete performances of the second half on Tuesday night, riding an explosive early offensive attack and strong starting pitching to an 8–4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field.

The victory not only snapped a two-game skid but also evened the series at one game apiece, setting up a rubber match on Wednesday afternoon. It was a night highlighted by home runs, clutch hitting, sparkling defense, and a resilient performance from the Rockies’ pitching staff.

Mickey Moniak, who has been on an absolute tear through the month of July, wasted no time continuing his hot streak. With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Moniak crushed a solo home run to right-center field, a 450-foot blast that gave the Rockies an early 1–0 lead. It was Moniak’s 15th home run of the season, a career-high, and his fourth of the month. The former first-overall pick is now hitting over .438  in July and has been a key catalyst in the Rockies’ offense.

Moniak later added a walk with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, showing patience and plate discipline that matched his power at the dish.

The Rockies broke things wide open in the middle innings. After loading the bases in the bottom of the second, Adael Amador delivered a two-out, two-RBI double that extended the lead to 3–0. Amador’s double came on a well-struck liner into the right-center field gap, continuing his encouraging development at the plate as Colorado’s top infield prospect.

One inning later, it was Ryan McMahon’s turn to join the fireworks. After back-to-back hits by Brenton Doyle and Moniak, McMahon turned around a fastball from Cardinals starter Gordon Graceffo and launched a three-run homer deep into the right-field bleachers. It was McMahon’s 16th long ball of the season and made it a 6–0 Rockies advantage.

On the mound, right-hander Bradley Blalock turned in one of his more effective starts since joining the Rockies rotation. He tossed 5⅓ innings, allowing eight hits but just two runs while walking only one. Though he didn’t record a strikeout, Blalock was able to pitch to contact and leaned on his defense to make the necessary plays behind him.

That defense came through in the top of the third when Brenton Doyle made a highlight-reel diving catch in center field to rob Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman of extra bases. Doyle’s play helped preserve what was then a two-run lead and kept the momentum squarely in Colorado’s favor.

Blalock departed in the sixth after giving up a pair of base hits, but the Rockies bullpen was able to contain the damage.

The Cardinals made things interesting in the middle innings, putting up a pair of runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to cut the deficit to 6–3. In the eighth, they drew within two after a run-scoring single by Ivan Herrera, but any hopes of a full comeback were dashed in the bottom half of the inning.

After loading the bases with one out, the Rockies added two insurance runs. Moniak drew a bases-loaded walk for his second RBI of the night, and a groundout from McMahon brought home another to push the lead back to 8–4.

Right-hander Seth Halvorsen came in for the ninth and worked a clean frame, closing the door on any final Cardinals push.

The Rockies will look to carry that momentum into the series finale on Wednesday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. MT. Right-hander Andre Pallante is slated to start for the Cardinals, while the Rockies’ Tanner Gordon is expected to make a start in place of an injured German Marquez.