LOS ANGELES – For Colorado Rockies rookie Ryan McMahon, it has been a year of dreams coming true.
He made his debut at the end of 2017 but was used sparingly. And this year didn’t get off to the start he wanted, struggling out of the gate to the extent that he needed to be sent back to Triple-A.
Then, less than 24 hours after a game-winning home run, he was sent down for the second time.
But in his third stint with the club, he has emerged as exactly the kind of player those of us who watched him closely throughout his minor-league career.
He’s come up huge in some of the biggest moments of the season, most notably smashing game-winning home runs in back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field, the latter of which—a walk-off—may stand as the high point of the year so far.
Now, in the most important game the team has played in a search for their first-ever division title, McMahon will get his first start at Dodger Stadium just a few miles from where he grew up in Santa Ana, Calif.
“It’s obviously really cool [to play in] my hometown,” he told BSN Denver before Wednesday night’s must-win contest. “This is fun for me personally.”
Naturally, the McMahon clan has been out in full force to support Ryan.
“Last night, they were here in crazy numbers,” he says. “My dad’s buddy has all the hookups with the Dodgers so they were in a big suite, they were all there… I don’t even know how many.”
Apparently, there was just enough hoopla when his name was announced for a late pinch-hit appearance on Wednesday, that he could feel their presence.
“I heard somebody when I was walking into the on-deck circle last night,” he says. “But that was the last I heard of anything.”
This start comes partially as a result of an elbow injury to Trevor Story. Ian Desmond, who usually mans first base, has slid over to the position where he began his career and has been an All-Star opening up a spot for McMahon to get his chance.
“Bad timing with that,” McMahon said of the injury. “You never want to lose a player with Trevor’s skillset and everything that he’s done. But Hampson stepped up big time yesterday. We’ve got a lot of guys who are ready to fill in and help out wherever they can so I think we felt good running with Hamp yesterday and we feel good today.”
Regardless of the circumstances or the joy of the homecoming, McMahon recognizes that this is his opportunity to make his mark on the National League pennant race. And it was easy to tell that he can’t wait to take the field.
“I feel good, man,” he says. “This is what it’s all about, big games in September and we’re competing. Game and a half back, we need a big win tonight. Obviously, that would be huge so I’m going to go out there and give it my all and do everything I can to help the team.”
Can Ryan McMahon find a way to haunt the Dodgers one more time?
The next few hours will start to give an answer.
