Rockies ride Tomoyuki Sugano's strong start, two homers by Mickey Moniak to beat Phillies

Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post on Apr 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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DENVER — The Colorado Rockies were desperately searching for two things on Sunday: a quality start and some thunder from their offense.

They got both with a 4-1 win over the Phillies at Coors Field. Colorado’s victory snapped a nine-game losing streak to Philly.

Right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano pitched six superb innings in his LoDo debut, while Mickey Moniak hit two solo homers and rookie TJ Rumfield launched a two-run rocket.

Sugano dazzled, giving up one run on just four hits, struck out five and walked only one. The right-hander’s one major mistake came in the second inning on a 3-2 pitch to Adolis Garcia, who sent Sugano’s 85 mph sweeper 405 feet and over the right-field wall.

Sugano dodged major danger with two outs in the fifth. Justin Crawford reached on an infield hit, and Trea Turner doubled when Moniak lost a shallow fly ball in the sun in right field, and it dropped in for a cheap hit.

Up to the plate stepped dangerous slugger Kyle Schwarber, who ripped a ball to deep center. For a moment, it looked like a three-run homer until the ball settled into Jake McCarthy’s glove for the third out. Sugano walked off the mound with a sheepish grin.

Moniak, whom the Phillies selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 draft, hit a two-out, solo homer in the first off right-hander Taijuan Walker. Two batters later, Rumfield followed up with his two-run homer. Moniak hit another solo homer in the fifth off Walker.

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