DENVER — For most of this year, it seemed like the only way to experience the Blake Street Bombers was through books.

A team that used to be built on sluggers, this current Rockies’ team ranked 25th in the league for total home runs heading into Friday’s contest. Only one team — the 2006 edition — has finished lower. It’s been such a weakness for this team that manager Bud Black has admitted on multiple occasions, including again prior to Friday’s game, that the Rockies are in need of a big bat.

A team that once petrified the league, the Blake Street Bombers was a name bestowed upon the first team to walk through the Coors Field halls. Coupled with the advantage of playing half their games at altitude, the Rockies’ have been in the top half of the league for total home runs for over two-thirds of their existence.

This year did not follow that trend, but perhaps, in the past 48 hours, the tides have turned. On Friday, the Rockies hit five homers, including three in a nine-run fourth inning, as they cruised to a 14-2 win over the Marlins. Germán Márquez pitched another near spotless game, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning and giving up just two in six innings. He walked one and struck out seven.

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Maybe it’s the homer shades, or the confidence that they summon from playing at Coors Field, a place they’ve won 36 of their 49 games this season. Somehow, the Rockies have put up nine home runs in the past two games.

“In this little segment of the season, the last few weeks, it’s showing up,” Black said. “The challenge is to try to do it consistently for a long haul.”

Some came from their veterans, with Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon each hitting their share of moonshots. But they also got contributions from other characters, with Elias Díaz, Sam Hilliard, Brendan Rodgers, Ryan McMahon and CJ Cron all taking their turn around the bases in the past 48 hours. All are building parts to the team as they try to make this hitting surge a permanent part of their repertoire.

“I think you are starting to see the young guys take a step forward,” Cron said. “There’s a lot of young guys here and I think they are starting to get more comfortable, starting to settle in. It’s nice to see them start playing well.” 

It started with a 412-foot shot from Cron on Friday, who out-did himself later with a 456-foot blast that soared all the way past the left field bleachers and into the concourse. Blackmon, who hasn’t been as productive this year compared to his prime but has come on since the All-Star break, had a two-run homer in the fourth.

Elias Díaz also got in on the action. He added his career-high 13th on Friday, and his 11th since June 28. And McMahon joined the party in the eighth, smashing one 430 feet for his 16th homer of the year.

“Hitting is contagious,” Cron said. “When guys get rolling like this we start to feed off each other. We are taking a lot more aggressive swings in the zone and I think its starting to show.”