This is what it did to the Giants' streak of fewer-than-four-runs-allowed-per-game:
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| Giants' RA over their last 19 games... |
Ouch...
Well, the Giants quickly got on the board when Freddy Sanchez hit a solo shot in the second at bat of the game. The Rockies, however, did not hesitate to answer, as Melvin Mora hit a two-run single in the bottom half of the first inning.
The third inning gave Giants fans a flashback of the good old days -- the days when Andres Torres and Aubrey Huff were always in the lineup, always producing. They each hit a solo home run, to make the score 3-2.
In the fifth, Pat Burrell added on with an RBI single to right...4-2.
In the bottom half of the inning, after Torres had been taken out of the game, things fell apart (thanks to a mediocre outfield defense). Jay Payton and Carlos Gonzalez got back-to-back triples, that, had Torres been in the game, might have instead been a double and a flyout....Then, Troy Tulowitzki hit a home run. And Mora hit the third triple of the inning, later scoring on a Chris Iannetta single. 4-6.
After having the game virtually ripped from the Giants' hands, they fought back, successfully. They began the inning with six consecutive hits (including a Cody Ross three-run homer) that gave the Giants an 8-6 lead. Sanchez scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-6. Esmil Rogers, the pitcher for the Rockies to begin the sixth inning, almost made my day, lowering the Rockies' win probability by 56.9% with this gem: 0.0 IP, 5 ER.
No lead is ever safe at Coors Field, unfortunately.
The Giants were reminded of this in the eighth inning. Tulo was at the plate with runners on the corners, so Bruce Bochy felt it to be a perfect time to bring in Brian Wilson for the four-out save. Tulo ripped a double to right field to tie the game, 9-9. In hindsight, it probably would have been better to intentionally walk him, seeing as Mora was on deck.
Pablo Sandoval hit a two-out double in the top of the ninth, but it unfortunately didn't amount to anything.
In the tenth inning, with CarGo at first, Tulo ripped a liner to the hole at shortstop, that just missed the glove of the outstretched Juan Uribe. CarGo sped around the bases, scoring from first to win the game for the Rockies.
The days of the Giants' pitching staff as a legendary, unstoppable force are over. Feast-or-famine continues. Torres is clearly not fully recovered from his appendectomy. It's truly unfortunate because balls that found the gap -- that Torres would have tracked down -- made the difference in this game. Barry Zito's final line: 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 4 K, 3 BB.
Coming into this series, winning two out of three seemed to be the obvious -- and reasonable goal. The Rockies are monsters at Coors Field, so sweeping would have been very difficult. But two of three is good. Two of three wins this series for the Giants, expands upon their lead over the Rockies, and keeps them in a good position in the NL West race. Tomorrow is a must-win for the Giants...or at the very least, a must-lose for the Padres. With only seven games left for the Giants, they don't want to be digging themselves a ditch right now.
As it stands, though, they're only a half a game back. It really hurts to lose first place, though. Especially in a game in which they hit four home runs.
According to ESPN, Tulowitzki increased his September RBI total to 40 with his five-RBI performance on Saturday, becoming just the fifth player to accumulate this many RBIs in a calendar month in the last 50 years. I honestly wouldn't mind if he got the Bonds treatment tomorrow. Just for tomorrow's game. That'll hopefully be the last time the Giants see Tulo in 2010.
Positives from this game:
- Torres is back.
- Huff produced (4 for 5, 1 HR).
- Cody Ross extended his hit streak to eight with his three-run homer.
- Pablo Sandoval did something (1 for 1, ninth inning two-out double).
- Barry Zito might have cost himself a spot on the postseason rotation...that is, if the Giants make the postseason.
- Giants put up 15 hits, nine runs.
As I've said time and again, Matt Cain's been the Giants' guy in 2010. He's been their stopper, their most consistent starter...Hopefully he'll get them the win tomorrow. He'll face De La Rosa.
Standings/Playoff Odds from ESPN:
Seven games left...
