I have a near-religious belief that a team must score at least eight runs in order to be competitive in Coors Field. I have seen too many leads evaporate in that park over the years. Today the Giants jumped to an early lead, 6-1 in the 4th, but the Colorado bullpen suddenly stiffened and threw five consecutive scoreless innings. Meanwhile the Giants bullpen had an epic meltdown. Logan Webb was solid through five, allowing only two runs, and with a low pitch count manager Gabe Kapler let him start the 6th. He got Charlie Blackmon with a strikeout, but gave up a single to Kevin Pillar* and a bunt single to Trevor Story. Kap replaced Webb with Jarlin Garcia who allowed both runners to score on a single and a sacrifice fly. Sam Coonrod came out for the 7th with a 6-4 lead but retired no one, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk. Tyler Rogers finally put the fire out but not before three more hits (including a homer) and two more runs. The Rockies flipped the game over and went to the 8th with a 9-6 lead and that's how it ended.
I was really hoping the Giants would take both games and come home with a .500 record. I felt like the early runs were only going to work if the Giants could tack on a couple more in the final third of the game. I figured the Rockies to chip away at the 'pen but I did not expect a five-spot, especially with the way Coonrod and Rogers had performed lately. A frustrating loss, to be sure. The Giants are 2-4 against the Rockies and have four more games with them (at home) in the final week of the season. I would really like to see the Giants pass these guys in the standings!
Off-day tomorrow. Arizona comes to San Francisco for four starting Friday night. The Diamondbacks are the team the Giants have beat up on the most this year, with the good guys taking five of six. Let's hope that continues.
--M.C.
*Pillar was picked up at the deadline by the Rockies from the Red Sox. He was in last night's game and was 0-for-3 but had two hits (including a 2-run triple) against his old team this afternoon. His current .274/.323/.476 slash line (over 30 G and 134 PA) is the best mark of his career.
3 comments:
Tom Seaver dead at 75. He had retired from public life due to dementia and his death is attributed to that and complications from COVID-19.
He was from Fresno and went to USC and was a Giants fan and a frequent past guest at the Park. He once said he like watching Matt Cain pitch because Matt's motion was "very similar to mine."
His post baseball passion was wine-making.
RIP.
I thought a key turning point was with one out and the bases loaded, and Dubon grounded into a double play on the first pitch. It seemed to take the steam out of the giants sails, and give the Rockies a new life. The high altitude finally got to the giants in the middle of the game. Longo just missed a homer as Pillar took it down at the wall. There were two balls just out of Yaz's reach. One of them I think he misjudged, the other one could have worked had Yaz just grown a few inches taller. When the Rockies got Pillar, I had an eerie fan feeling that he would play a role in a giants loss. I guess our submariner did not get his ball to break in Denver as much as it breaks at other venues. Seaver was well spoken, so sad to see him leave having had a horrible form of dementia.
Agreed. Dubon needs to slow the game down. He's hitting better but his at-bats go by in a flash, it seems. I hope he can find a major-league stroke, he's such a likeable player, and he has good glove skills, and I give him a lot of credit for learning a new position (CF).
Seaver was one of those god-like players from my early youth. McCovey, Yaz, Gibson, Clemente, etc. I was 9-going-on-10 years old when the '69 Mets won it. You know how it was when you were a kid, the players were like gods. The only comparable people, to me at that time, were the Apollo astronauts.
I saw him pitch when I was a college boy back when the Reds were still in the NL West. He was still a stud!
Indeed, Seaver was always articulate. One of his teammates, I think it was Cleon Jones, called him "studious."
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