Rockies’ Troy Johnston Bunts, Doubles Off Bag, Then Crushes 407-Foot Bomb—All In One Night

A grounder that should have been the third out of the inning hit the second-base bag, ricocheted past a stunned Jeremy Pena, and rolled into center field for an RBI double. That single moment, equal parts physics and fortune, set the tone for what may be the most entertaining one-man offensive show of the 2026 MLB season.

On Monday night at Coors Field, Colorado Rockies outfielder Troy Johnston did something few players ever accomplish in a single game: he reached base on a bunt that traveled roughly three feet, collected an RBI double courtesy of a freak bounce off the second-base bag, and then crushed a 407-foot solo home run, all in a 9-7 Colorado victory over the Houston Astros.

Johnston’s wide-eyed shrug after the bag-bounce double, as if to say I have no idea either, spread rapidly across social media, earning the instant nickname “the shrug heard ’round the internet.”

Three Hits, Three Completely Different Planets

The night unfolded like a highlight reel no one could have scripted. In the second inning, Johnston laid down a perfectly placed bunt off Astros starter Cody Bolton that rolled dead on the chalk line and stayed just fair, forcing defenders into a hopeless footrace. Statcast logged the hit at an exit velocity of 48.9 mph and a launch angle of -59 degrees, with a travel distance of exactly three feet.

Then came the fifth inning. With the Rockies trailing 3-0 and an eight-run rally igniting, Johnston grounded a ball toward the middle of the infield. It struck the second-base bag and bounced sharply away from shortstop Pena, who had already taken a step toward the dugout expecting the inning to end. Instead, Johnston stood on second base with an RBI double and a smirk that said everything. That hit gave Colorado a 4-3 lead as part of a 14-batter, eight-run fifth inning that flipped the game entirely.

Any remaining doubt about Johnston’s right to celebrate was erased in the sixth. He turned on a fastball from reliever Ryan Weiss, the same pitcher who had surrendered the fluke double moments earlier, and drove it 407 feet into the right-field seats at 99.9 mph exit velocity. It was his second home run of the young 2026 season, and it put the Rockies ahead 9-4.

“I’d Like a Little Bit of That Mojo”

Winning pitcher Ryan Feltner put it simply after the game: “It’s fun to watch him right now. I’d like a little bit of that mojo.”

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer had seen Johnston’s complete game coming. “We knew that Troy, coming into Spring Training, could play a complete game, defense and offense,” Schaeffer said. “He’s showing that.”

From Nearly Quitting Baseball to Hitting Cleanup

What makes Johnston’s breakout even more remarkable is how close it came to never happening. A 17th-round draft pick out of Gonzaga University in 2019, Johnston was named the Miami Marlins’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2023, yet never received a big-league call. By 2024, with his signing bonus long spent and three off-season jobs barely covering expenses, he seriously considered walking away from the sport.

“I was fully done with baseball,” Johnston admitted in the post-game clubhouse. “I thought professional baseball had chewed me up and spit me out.”

His wife Haley and an offer from a Dominican Winter League team helped change his mind. He debuted with Miami in 2025, hit .277 in 44 games, and was claimed off waivers by Colorado on November 5, 2025. Through the early weeks of 2026, in a small sample, the Tacoma, Washington native was batting .342 with two home runs and an OPS of .954.

One Triple Shy of the Cycle, and a Coat to Remember

Johnston finished the night one triple shy of completing a rare cycle, before an eighth-inning grounder disappointingly played true and became the game’s final out.

He did, however, make history of a different kind: he became the first player to wear the Rockies’ new purple faux fur celebration coat, which arrived at Coors Field for the very first time that night. Johnston slipped it on in the dugout, grinned, and acknowledged the fit was slightly off.

“What an honor it is that I was the first one to get to wear it,” he said, laughing. “It was a little big on me, but I’ll fit into it, eventually.”