San Francisco Giants starter Hayden Birdsong was dealing against the Colorado Rockies seen here in the bottom of the first inning at Coors Field in Denver as the Giants avoided getting swept on Sun Jul 21, 2024 (AP News photo)

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Coors Field

Denver, Colorado

San Francisco Giants 3 (48-52)

Colorado Rockies 2 (36-64)

Win: Hayden Birdsong (2-0)

Loss: Ryan Feltner (1-10)

Save: Camilo Doval (18)

Time: 2:20

Attendance: 30,507

By Stephen Ruderman

Hayden Birdsong was dominant over six innings in his fifth big league start, as he struck out 12, and the Giants were able to get out of Colorado with a much-needed 3-2 win salvage a game in this series at Coors Field.

The Giants had an exciting finish to the first half last weekend. However, they’ve struggled over the first two games of this series to start the second half.

First, they blew a 3-0 lead and lost 7-3 Friday night, and then they were unable to get to Kyle Freeland in a 4-3 loss last night. Until Friday, the Giants were undefeated against the Rockies this season, but now they were suddenly trying to avoid an embarrassing sweep at the hands of the third-worst team in Baseball.

The Giants would look to get the win on another cloudy and overcast afternoon in Denver. The game got off to an interesting start. Bob Melvin, who doesn’t often take out the lineup card, got ejected by third Base Umpire and Crew Chief Alex MacKay at the plate meeting prior to the start of the game. Usually in that situation, a manager is planning to watch the entire game from the clubhouse.

Jorge Soler then led off, and on the fourth pitch of the game from Rockies’ starter Ryan Feltner, Soler hit a mammoth 478-foot blast just to the left of straight away center field. It was the longest home run in Baseball this season.

It was the start the Giants needed against Feltner, who came into Saturday’s game 1-9 with a 5.38 ERA. Sunday night, the Giants struggled against Kyle Freeland, who came into the game with an ERA right at 6.00, and if the Giants were going to once again struggle against a really bad pitcher, it would have been even more of a really bad look.

Anyway, Hayden Birdsong took the ball for the Giants in his fifth big league start. Birdsong, who has snuck into MLB.com’s top 100 prospects since his major league debut, has gone 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA in his first four starts. Perhaps, he would be the man that could steer the ship for the Giants Sunday.

Indeed, Birdsong started out strong today. He pitched a scoreless bottom of the first inning, and he threw a 1-2-3 bottom of the second.

Tyler Fitzgerald, who hit a home run last night, led off the top of the third with a home run to dead straight away center to make it 2-0. Birdsong then pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third, and he was dealing.

Feltner retired the first two men he faced in the top of the fourth, but Matt Chapman and Mike Yastrzesmski each singled to put runners at the corners with two outs. With Fitzgerald at the plate, Chapman scored on a passed ball by catcher Jacob Stallings to make it 3-0 San Francisco.

Birdsong walked Ryan McMahon with one out in the bottom of the fourth, and with two outs, Brendan Rogers put the Rockies on the board with a two-run home run to left to make it 3-2. Despite the home run, Birdsong struck out the side, and he struck out seven over the first four innings.

Feltner pitched a 1-2-3 top of the fifth, and after Stallings led off the bottom of the fifth with a base-hit, Birdsong struck out the side. Feltner then pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth.

Birdsong threw another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth, while striking out two to end one helluva a day for the young man. Birdsong gave up just two runs and two hits over six innings, but most importantly, he struck out 12, which was the most for a Giants’ rookie since Tim Lincecum struck out 12 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 1, 2007 at then-AT&T Park.

Feltner ended up going seven innings, an inning longer than Birdsong, and he ended his afternoon when Fitzgerald walked and was then caught trying to steal second base to end the top of the seventh.

Ryan Walker came in for the bottom of the seventh, and he got help right away from Matt Chapman, who took away a base-hit from Brendan Rogers on a ground ball to third to start the inning. Walker was damn lucky that Chapman made that play, because Jake Cave then lined a double to left.

The Rockies had the tying run at second against Walker with one out, but Stallings struck out looking, and Sam Hilliard lined out to center to end the inning, as the Giants’ kept their 3-2 lead going to the eighth.

Tyler Kinley pitched a scoreless top of the eighth for Colorado, and submariner Tyler Rogers, who got rocked for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in a tough-luck loss Friday, was back out for the top of the eighth Sunday afternoon.

Rogers seemed as if he was going to find himself in trouble again after Aaron Schunk reached on an error by second-baseman Brett Wisely. However, longtime veteran Charlie Blackmon, the longest-tenured Rockie dating all the way back to 2011, bunted into a 4-6-3 double play. Brenton Doyle singled with two outs, but Ryan McMahon grounded out to end the inning.

For Rogers, he didn’t have himself the worst inning, but with a Giants’ fan base that has relentlessly and unfairly gone after Rogers, I’m sure it wasn’t enough.

Anyway, it was off to the top of the ninth, where Jalen Beeks threw a 1-2-3 inning. For the bottom of the ninth, the Giants turned to Camilo Doval. Doval, who has been nails for the Giants as their closer the last two seasons, had gotten off to another solid start this season.

However, since a blown save in Pittsburgh on May 21 in which he gave up two unearned runs, he has been absolutely snakebit. His latest nightmare came last Sunday, when he blew a save against the Minnesota Twins.

Rumors have swirled that the Giants would go to a new closer, or perhaps Doval would even be sent to the minors, but here he was in the game today to try and notch the save in a semi-must-win game Sunday in Denver.

Doval struck Michael Toglia and Brendan Rogers both out looking to start the bottom of the ninth, but Jake Cave walked and stole second. Of course it wasn’t going to be easy for Doval, but he got Stallings to ground out to third, and everybody went home happy, as the Giants held on for a much-needed 3-2 win.

Hayden Birdsong got his second big league win; Ryan Feltner took his tenth loss of the season; and Camilo Doval picked up his 18th save of the year.

The Giants improve to 48-52—and yes, I just realized that this was the Giants’ 100th game of the season—and they will also have some much-needed momentum heading into a tough four-game series at Dodger Stadium against their hated rivals.

Blake Snell (0-3, 6.31 ERA), who almost picked up his first win of the season last Sunday, will go for the Giants Sunday night. Dave Roberts has yet to say who will go for the Dodgers. First pitch will be at 7:10 p.m., which is the old custom for games at Dodger Stadium.