The Rockies devised a plan to get their road offense back on track and arrived in New York City ready to take a bite out of the big apple.

One bite down, three to go.

On the back of Austin Gomber’s eight-inning, eight-strikeout performance, both career highs, the Rockies took down the Mets 3-2 on Monday. That was just their third road win of the season, and first since May 1.

Manager Bud Black and Gomber said this is one of the best games of Gomber’s career, and the best he’s looked since he arrived in Denver as part of the Nolan Arenado trade in February.

“It’s hard to top that for sure,” Gomber said. “I was pretty locked in.”

For the Rockies, this win was step one in their plan to turn things around on the road. Last weekend, as the Rockies swept the Diamondbacks at home, one eye was looking ahead to this upcoming seven-game road trip. They developed a teamwide strategy, the details of which they decided to keep private. Trevor Story said every player was on board.

“As a team, it doesn’t need to be said, but we need to be better,” Story said Sunday after hitting a walk-off home run. “We need to be better on the road. It’s just not acceptable the way we’ve been playing.”

As part of the changes, the Rockies took batting practice at 2 p.m., about three hours earlier than they usually would for a 7 p.m. away game. They used a pitching machine to emulate the way breaking balls spin at lower altitudes, and threw hard sliders and fastballs.

They seemed to have made progress, at least against a Mets lineup depleted with injuries. The Mets were playing without six regular starters, and lost another outfielder with Johneshwy Fargas leaving with a shoulder injury after the fourth inning.

Gomber didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning, and faced the minimum batters through six. James McCann, who played first for the first time of his pro career, was the first Mets player to crack Gomber. McCann hit a home run in the sixth, and Brandon Drury had one in the ninth. Gomber gave up another hit by Patrick Mazika before he was removed.

His tempo on the mound was quick, and he allowed no walks. His command early had some issues, but he managed to throw the right pitch when he needed to get an out. He found his groove in the middle innings, and came up just shy his first career complete game.

Gomber’s change-up, a pitch he re-developed during the COVID-19 shutdown last year, got him his last two strikeouts. His other six came off his slider.

“I was so pumped that I saw him and Elias (Diaz) use it so much,” Black said of Gomber’s change-up. “I told him what an advantage you have to be able to throw the change-up so much. I think this was a great game for him to learn the importance of that pitch for him.”

The Rockies managed three runs, more than they did on their last road trip to San Diego. Ryan McMahon hit his 12th home run of the season, and Elias Díaz — who has been subpar at the plate — notched his first homer of the season. He got on base three of four times.

Tuesday will be another test for the Rockies’ new road approach, as they face Jacob deGrom in his first start back from the injured list. Kyle Freeland will make his first start of the season after spending the past two months out with a shoulder strain.

“Coming in after sweeping this weekend, I feel like we are playing good and things are starting to go in the right direction,” Gomber said. “Hopefully we can carry that momentum for the rest of the trip.”