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Note to opposing pitchers: Fear the beard.

The Colorado Rockies‘ Charlie Blackmon is starting to return to the form that saw him lead the National League with a .331 batting average last season Trevon Wesco Jersey , when he also had career highs with 37 home runs and 104 RBIs.

The bearded Blackmon homered in the first inning for the second time in the past three games Friday and added two other hits, sparking the Rockies to a 7-1 victory at Seattle. It was Colorado’s fourth straight win and seventh in the past eight games.

“It’s really good to continue to try and win games, play team baseball, even if you’re not feeling real awesome at the plate,” Blackmon told MLB.com earlier this week.

Blackmon hit a first-inning homer Tuesday in an 8-1 victory against San Francisco, then went deep against longtime Mariners ace Felix Hernandez on Friday.

During the Rockies’ four-game win streak, Blackmon is batting .471 (8-for-17) with two homers, four RBIs and has six runs scored. By contrast, from June 6 to Monday’s 5-2 victory over the Giants, Blackmon hit .216 (22-for-102) with two homers.

“This guy is the National League batting champion,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He’s an All-Star, started the All-Star Game, hit 37 home runs Shareef Miller Jersey , knocked in 100 runs from the leadoff position. He’s going to be pitched tough the next year, for sure.

“And Charlie, at times, has come out of his game a little bit. Our conversation with Charlie has been, ‘Hey, be yourself.’ “

And that’s when opponents fear the beard.

“I’ve felt pretty good the past couple of days,” Blackmon admitted.

Blackmon will face a tough task Saturday afternoon in Seattle against Mariners left-hander James Paxton (8-2, 3.39 ERA). Paxton is 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies.

In his most recent start, Paxton pitched eight shutout innings, giving up just two hits while striking out 11, in a 1-0 victory over the Royals on Sunday.

Blackmon has a .305 career average against lefties. Of the left-handed batters with a minimum of 750 plate appearances, the only ones in baseball history with a better average against southpaws are Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Gwynn Zach Brown Jersey , Rod Carew and Larry Walker.

Colorado will send left-hander Kyle Freeland (8-6, 3.25) to the mound. Freeland has made one career start against the Mariners, a 6-3 win at Safeco Field last season. He pitched six innings in that game and allowed two runs on six hits. In five career interleague starts, Freeland is 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA.

The Mariners hope to have outfielder Mitch Haniger back Saturday.

Haniger, who is second in the American League with 62 RBIs, has missed the past two games with a bruised right knee.

“(Thursday) it was really sore, but it’s calmed down quite a bit,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said before Friday’s game. “He had it looked at by the doctor and it’s day-to-day. Hopefully he goes along good today and he possibly could get back in there (Saturday). He was definitely moving and feeling better.”

Mariners second baseman Dee Gordon left Friday’s game in the sixth inning after trying to score from third base on a ball that was in the dirt and got away from Colorado catcher Tony Wolters. But Wolters quickly recovered and flipped to pitcher German Marquez, who tagged out Gordon, who tried to score standing up. Gordon landed awkwardly after crossing the plate and Servais said Gordon “tweaked his hip.”

“I think he’ll be OK,” Servais said. “We’ll know more (Saturday) morning.”

Last year proved to be a major challenge for San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Solomon Thomas in many different ways. From the suicide of his sister, Ella, trying to deal with the grief attached to the loss Devin Bush Jersey , and then having to prepare to play football games in the NFL, 2018 proved to have its many challenges.According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Bay Area, Thomas is eager to make a leap this season and shows he’s a player that deserved to be a top five pick two years ago.“Last year I just wasn’t me,” Thomas said. “I’m not making excuses. I didn’t play well, and that’s on me. I should’ve played better. But I’m not making excuses for any of that. But what I’m saying that I wasn’t me last year. I put pressure on myself. But that’s over.”Thomas’ sister committed suicide in January of last year. He sought help to deal with the trauma of her death and has been an outspoken advocate for suicide prevention ever since. On the field, Thomas’ production dwindled from his rookie year. He recorded just 31 tackles and a lone sack a year ago for the 49ers. Trade rumors surfaced surrounding Thomas before the 49ers committed to his remaining with the team moving forward.Thomas wants to prove to the 49ers that he’s the player they thought he could be.“In this business, whatever happens, happens. You don’t control it,” Thomas said. “But I love this organization. I love being here. And I want to finish what I started. I want to come here and want to show everyone why John and Kyle drafted me No. 3 and be who I am.With the addition of Nick Bosa through the draft and Dee Ford in trade to pair with DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, the 49ers defensive line should have more firepower this season. It should also take some pressure off Thomas and give him more opportunities to make an impact as well.“Everything in the past, is in the past,” he said. “I had probably my worst season ever in my life last year and I’m the most confident I’ve ever been in my career right now. That says a lot. I’m ready to move forward and show everyone who Solomon Thomas is and what I’m going to bring to the table.”