NEW YORK -- Charlie Blackmon believes a great defensive play is better than most hits.

The exception to his theory is home runs.

On Tuesday, Blackmon struck the trifecta, hitting two solo home runs and making a sliding catch as the Colorado Rockies defeated the New York Yankees, 8-4.

Blackmon gave the Rockies a lead three pitches in when he drove a 1-1 curveball off the right field foul pole to start a 23-minute first inning that gave the Rockies a 3-0 lead.

After getting his 16th career leadoff home run, Blackmon protected a 4-2 lead in the second by running in to make a sliding catch on a sinking liner to center field by Rob Refsnyder for the third out and with Aaron Hicks on first after he reached on a fielding error by second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

"I really like making outs for my guys and I think there's no better feeling than making diving catches," Blackmon said. "Except for homers. Homers are awesome."

And two home runs are better than one, which Blackmon showed when he opened the fourth by driving a full count fastball over the right field fence. It gave the Rockies a 6-2 lead and was the fourth time Blackmon had two home runs in a game.

"That's a good job," Blackmon said. "It helps your team win the game. A lot of times this year, I've had a really bad at-bat and then made a bad play in the field the next half inning. So I think it's important to lock it in."

The rest of the Rockies also seemed locked in, especially Nolan Arenado. Arenado highlighted his eighth game with at least three hits by hitting his major league-leading 21st home run and increasing his RBI total to 60.

"He just clicks along," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "You look up and he's got 60 RBI. He's a model of consistency."

Besides Blackmon and Arenado, Mark Reynolds drove in two runs and Carlos Gonzalez had three hits, including an RBI single in the opening inning.

The Rockies beat the Yankees for the third straight time and have scored 27 runs in those games. They had 15 hits, have eight home runs in the last two games and have won 10 of their last 15 games.

The early offense gave Chad Bettis some breathing room and he allowed four runs (two earned) and eight hits in six innings while equaling a career high with eight strikeouts.

"It was great," Bettis said. To go out there in the first inning and score three I think was huge. I kind of was in cruise control the whole time."

The Yankees had 10 hits but went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and lost for the sixth time in nine games since going over .500 at 31-30 on June 10.

Alex Rodriguez accounted for two New York runs with a double play in the first and a sacrifice fly in the fifth but it was on his deep drive to the warning track in left where Carlos Beltran got thrown out trying to advance to second.

"Well, it was a ball in the gap on the warning track, so I wanted to be aggressive and try to make it into scoring position," Beltran said.

Didi Gregorius had an RBI triple in the sixth and scored on LeMahieu's error in the second.

Nova allowed six runs (five earned) and eight hits in four-plus innings. He heard some boos when he was lifted following a walk to Trevor Story and has a 6.88 ERA in his last six outings.

"He got off to a rough start in the first, could've only given up two runs there, then he gives up another run," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He didn't make the pitches that he had to, and he struggled."

NOTES: The Yankees held an on-field ceremony to recognize the victims of the June 12 shooting in Orlando. A moment of silence was held while managers Joe Girardi and Walt Weiss laid down a wreath at home plate. ... New York 1B Mark Teixeira (knee) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre Tuesday and was 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly while playing six innings in the field. ... New York CF Jacoby Ellsbury (stomach) was held out of the lineup. ... Colorado RHP Adam Ottavino (Tommy John surgery) had his rehab assignment moved from Class-A Modesto to Triple-A Albuquerque. ... LHP Tyler Matzek was outrighted off Colorado's 40-man roster. ... Principal owner Hal Steinbrenner told reporters Monday he believed the Yankees would be in contention by the end of July and both Girardi and GM Brian Cashman answered questions about those comments. Girardi said: "Belief is not enough, you have to go out and produce. Cashman said: "If anything right now, we'd be buyers, not sellers" before later adding he would advise Steinbrenner to sell if the team dropped out of contention.