Category: MLB

Chris Bassitt’s injury overshadows A’s loss to White Sox 9-0

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Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt follows through on his first inning delivery against the Chicago White Sox on Tue Aug 17, 2021 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. Bassitt later would be hit in the head by a line drive by Brian Goodwin. The latest word is Bassitt is conscious and x-rays performed will determined if there were fractures from the line drive. (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s had their ace, Chris Bassitt, on the mound as they tried to even the series with the White Sox at one apiece Tuesday night in Chicago. Bassitt, leading the American League in wins, ran into a little bit of a jam in the second inning.

He gave up singles to the first two batters he faced. The third hitter, Brian Goodwin, sent Bassitt’s pitch right back at him. The ball was traveling at 100 miles per hour. Bassitt tried to defend himself, but the ball hit him in the face. He dropped to the ground in obvious pain. The team trainer ran out and gave him a towel to stop the bleeding.

Bassitt was placed on a cart and taken to the hospital. The A’s announced that Bassitt was conscious and aware. The most important thing on everyone’s mind is his health. Former A’s manager and current White Sox skipper, Tony La Russa, said, “I hope he caught a break and is OK.” A’s manager Bob Melvin in a very brief press conference, said this: “we don’t think the eye is the problem. We will know about potential fractures tomorrow.”

In all the years that this writer has been following baseball, I have witnessed three other pitchers being hit in the head by a line drive. In 1957, lefty Herb Score was hit by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald. Score recovered but was never returned to the pitcher he was.

The A’s Brandon McCarthy was hit in the 2012 season. McCarthy suffered a skull fracture, and the injury was life-threatening. Fortunately, McCarthy recovered and resumed his career. In the 2012 World Series, Detroit Tigers pitcher Doug Fister was hit by a line drive. Fister stayed in the game and was lucky not to have had a serious injury.

The A’s still had to play a baseball game. Everyone knew their hearts were with Bassitt. It’s very hard to concentrate on playing a game when your teammate has suffered such a serious injury.

The summary of the game will be brief. The Sox scored five times in the second. Former A’s third baseman, Jake Lamb, hit a three-run blast off Burch Smith, who took over from Bassitt. The Sox led 5-0 after two. Jose Abreu hit a three-run homer in the fourth to make it 8-0. The Sox added a run in the sixth to finish with a 9-0 run.

Wednesday night A’s will battle the White Sox in game three of this four game series with the A’s starting Cole Irvin (8-11 ERA 3.52) for the Sox Lance Lynn (10-3 ERA 2.26) first pitch 5:10 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.

There will be no game notes or stats. The staff of Sports Radio Service and all of baseball are hoping and praying for Chris.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s Bassitt under careful watch after taking come backer to the head; Wagner card Holy Grail of all baseball cards valued at $6.6 million;

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Oakland A’s pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) took a line drive around the area of his eye by the Chicago White Sox hitter Brian Goodwin. Bassitt was taken to the hospital and is getting x-rayed on Tue Aug 17, 2021 in Chicago (photo from @BrodieNBCS)

On That’s Amaury’s podcast:

#1 Amaury, Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt who was hit on the area of his eye by a line drive hit by the Chicago White Sox Brian Goodwin. Bassitt was taken into the A’s clubhouse for observation and then to the hospital for x-rays. Players are praying for a good outcome. Bassitt is the winningest pitcher on the A’s pitching staff.

#2 Amaury, the price now for a Honus Wagner T-206 baseball card from 1909 is now worth more than some masterpiece paintings, the Wagner is valued at $6.6 million. In 1991 former NHL star Wayne Gretzky at one time owned the rare card with Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce Knoll for $451,000.

#3 Fernando being Fernando as the San Diego Padres Fernando Tatis Jr ripped home runs 32 and 33 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. Tatis in his first at bat hit a double and later the two home runs. It looked like Tatis never missed a step upon his return on Sunday.

#4 Amaury, how important is it for the New York Yankees to get pitcher Gerrit Cole back in the rotation after coming off the Injured List from Covid-19. Cole had been gone since August 3rd and is 10-6 ERA 3.11 and started on Monday night against the LA Angels.

#5 Amaury, just to get your comment on the comment former MLB pitcher Brandon McCarthy had said about Fox broadcaster Alex Rodriguez saying, “A-Rod doesn’t speak like a person who’s ever had a normal conversation. Tonally, inflection, the points he’s making, and how he makes them…all of it pushes you away as opposed to drawing you in,” McCarthy tweeted.

#6 Frustrations are boiling over at the New York first the Mets lost on Sunday night as Met’s pitcher Carlos Carrasco melted down in his outing and Mets starter Noah Syndergaard was besides himself because ESPN and MLB rescheduled Sunday’s game to a night game for prime time purposes against the LA Dodgers. Syndergaard said “whose dumb f–king idea was it to change Sunday’s game to a night game?” The Mets would get in the wee hours of Monday morning and have to play a 9:45 pm EDT first pitch Monday night at Oracle Park in San Francisco after flying all night cross country from New York to San Francisco.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish play by play lead announcer for the Oakland A’s on flagship station 1010 KIQI LeGrande San Francisco and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kris Boss: Bryant homers twice, Giants outlast the Mets, 7-5

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–On 77 occasions this season, the Giants have felt great about themselves and their play. After Monday’s win, that good feeling was running rampant throughout their clubhouse.

“We’re working the ball through the middle, we’re not letting the starter steal strikes from the very first pitch and we’re ready to go right when the bell rings,” Monday’s hero Kris Bryant said. “It’s really fun to be a part of.”

Bryant homered twice–the first time to give the Giants the lead, then later to build on that lead–and the Giants outlasted the Mets, 7-5 at Oracle Park. The team’s big trade deadline acquisition had gone more than two weeks without home run after doing so in his first game with his new club on August 1.

“After the second one, obviously back-to-back is going to get the crowd going,” Bryant said. “I felt that one. That one, I just can’t thank (the fans) enough. They’ve embraced me with open arms and it’s really been a great time playing in front of them.”

Bryant’s second homer in the seventh came one pitch after Brandon Belt connected, and extended the Giants lead to 6-3 in a game the Mets briefly led 3-2 in the fifth inning. The Mets answered with Jonathan Villar’s two-run shot in the eighth, but Jake McGee closed the door after that, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth for his career-best 26th save.

Bryant and McGee weren’t the Giants only stars on the night. In fact, there were a bunch as the club bagged its most satisfying win in weeks, and maintained its four-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West.

Kevin Gausman picked up his 12th win–a career high–by pitching five innings, allowing three runs while striking out seven. The seven strikeouts caught notice as the team’s ace has struggled since the All-Star break. On Monday however, Gausman had great fastball location, and life on his cutter, as Mets’ hitters struggled to find balance attacking his pitches. Still, Gausman’s outing wasn’t without its wart: Pete Alonso’s hard hit triple keyed a three-run fifth that briefly gave the Mets the lead.

Brandon Crawford continued his hot hitting with four hits, Wilmer Flores knocked in a run against his former team, and Brandon Belt came up big with his pinch-hit home run in the seventh.

A couple of the Mets complained about the scheduling that saw the team play at home in Citi Field on Sunday night against the Dodgers than have to fly all the way across country to face the Giants on Monday night. The Dodgers made the same trek, and survived, beating the Pirates 2-1. And to be fair, the Mets survived too, thanks to starter Rich Hill, and his underwhelming but effective repertoire that kept the Giants under raps until the fourth when they strung together five, consecutive hits for a 2-0 lead.

The Mets are in the midst of a concerning stretch of 13 games against the Giants and Dodgers that could decide their fate in the NL East. The club had lead the division until they slumped coming out of the All-Star break, allowing the Phillies and Braves to surge. The Mets are 0-4 in the stretch so far, a stretch which as challenging as any in the last 40 seasons at this stage of the season. Both the Dodgers and Giants have winning percentages above .600 and no club has faced teams with such superior win percentages 100 games into a season for this lengthy a stretch since the Blue Jays did it in 1980. The Jays didn’t fare well either, winning just four of the 13 games.

The Giants moved a season-best 35 games above .500, and have the second-best, 119-game start to a season in San Francisco Giants history at 77-42. The Giants have won 16 of 21, and a much more modest stretch of 23-20 to end the season would net them 100 wins.

On Tuesday, the Giants welcome the much anticipated appearance of Logan Webb, who will be trying to win a sixth, consecutive decision dating back to May 11. New York will counter with Marcus Stroman, who will be facing the Giants for only the second time, and the first as a Met.

Bryant belts two home runs and Gausman picks up 12th win; Giants beat Mets 7-5

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San Francisco Giant hitter Kris Bryant hits a two run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning one of two home runs in the game against the New York Mets. Mets catcher James McCann can only watch after Bryant hits the big fly on Mon Aug 16, 2021 at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Kris Bryant looks to be everything the San Francisco Giants (77-42) expected him to be when they picked him up during the trade deadline in July. Bryant hit two home runs and the Giants needed each of those homers to get a 7-5 two run win over the visiting New York Mets (59-59) on Monday night at Oracle Park.

The Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford continues to swing a hot bat with four hits. Crawford who signed a $32 million two year deal has now hit .427 in his last 28 games. Crawford also has had some key defensive play at shortstop that has supported some of the pitching in closing up some tight innings.

Brandon Belt who came in as a pinch hitter hit a home run. Belt has been on a tear since the Giants last road trip in Milwaukee last week where Belt hit multiple home runs in that series. The Giants with the best record in baseball have won 16 out of their last 21 ball games. The Giants are maintaining a good distance on the second place Los Angeles Dodgers with a four game lead in the National League West.

Bryant commented after the game the reason why he’s hitting so well it’s contagious and that the offense is not letting the opposing starters take them out of their game early the Giants on Monday night scored twice in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings and the Mets scored three times in the top of the fifth for a 4-3 lead the Giants picked up insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh and it was Bryant’s two home runs that stood up and made a difference.

The Giants also had to marvel at the fine pitching of starting pitcher Kevin Gausman who went five innings, five hits, three earned runs, two walks and the seven strike outs were key on keeping the Mets off the bases. “This was the best we’ve seen him in quite some time,” said San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler in the post game presser. “The fastball had a ton of life on it and the velocity was up. The split was much better. His mechanics were good.” The win was good enough for Gausman to improve his record to 12-5.

On Tuesday night the Mets will start right hander Marcus Stroman (8-11 ERA 2.79) and for the Giants Logan Webb (6-3 ERA 2.96) a 6:45 pm (PDT) first pitch at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

White Sox win first game of four-game set with A’s 5-2

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Former Oakland A’s and now Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendricks gets into the double fist pump mode after closing the door on his former team on Mon Aug 16, 2021 in Chicago (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s met the Chicago White Sox for the first time this season Monday at Guaranteed Rate Field on the Southside of Chicago. The teams entered the game with identical records of 68-50. The A’s sent Frankie Montas to the hill Monday night.

Montas had pitched well in his last several starts. The White Sox countered with the veteran lefty, Dallas Keuchel. Montas had to be on the top of his game as the White Sox lineup is loaded with tough outs. Two outstanding Chicago players returned to action after missing most of the season with injuries. Eloy Jiminez was back in the lineup, hitting behind last year’s MVP Jose Abreu. Luis Robert returned to his spot in center field after being on the 60-day IL.

The A’s knew they had to put runs on the board to beat Keuchel. Oakland put two on the board in the top of the second. Matt Chapman, with one out, blasted his 18th home run of the year. The home run was Chappie’s fourth blast in the last three games. Keuchel then hit Josh Harrison with a pitch.

He walked Stephen Piscotty and Vimael Machin to load the bases. Mark Canha singled to drive in Harrison with the A’s second run. Keuchel settled down and retired the next two A’s hitters to end the threat. The A’s didn’t know it at the time that they were done for the night.

Chicago added single runs in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. Montas left the game after the fifth inning, trailing 3-2. Frankie gave up three runs and allowed eight hits, all singles. He threw 99 pitches in his five innings of work. The White Sox added another run in the bottom of the eighth. Luis Robert led off the frame with his third home run of the year. 

The White Sox bullpen held the A’s offense at bay after Keuchel left after five innings of work. The A’s only hit after the fourth inning came in the eight when Jed Lowrie doubled. Former A’s closer Liam Hendriks struck out the side in the ninth to record his 27th save of the year. Chicago wins 5-2.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the A’s record stands at 68-51. The A’s trail the Houston Astros by two and 1/2 games in the race for first place in the AL West. The A’s drop 1/2 game behind the Boston Red Sox to be the number one Wild Card. The New Yankees downed the LA Angels to move with one and 1/2 games behind the second AL Wild card.

The line for Oakland was two runs, six hits, and one error. The A’s had two extra-base hits. Matt Chapman’s homer and Jed Lowrie’s double.

The line for the White Sox was five runs, ten hits, and no error. Luis Robert paced the Sox’ attack with three hits, two singles, and a home run. Chisox manager Tony LaRussa played small ball in the bottom of the sixth. Robert led off the inning with a single.

Robert then stole second. He was called out on the throw from Yan Gomes to Machin. The Sox won the challenge, and Robert was credited with a stolen base. Robert went to third on Brian Goodwin’s ground out. Sox catcher Zeby Zavala, who had two singles earlier in the game, laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to drive in Robert with Chicago’s fourth run of the night.

Chris Bassitt will pitch for the A’s Tuesday night. Bassitt is 12-3, and his ERA is 3.06. Chicago will counter with Reynaldo Lopez. Lopez is 1-0, and his era is 1.35

San Francisco Giants podcast with Charlie O: Kevin Gausman gets the call tonight against Mets

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Kevin Gausman (left) San Francisco Giants starting pitcher tonight shares congratulations with LaMonte Wade Jr after Wade hits a two run home run on Wed Aug 11, 2021 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park in San Francisco as the Giants host the New York Mets (AP News photo)

On the Giants podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, Alex Wood raised his win total to ten games with a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies the Giants (76-42) win the rubber game on Sunday and lead the second place Dodgers 4.5 games.

#2 Giants pitcher Alex Wood went 6.2 innings six hits, two earned runs, one walk, and six strikeouts.

#3 The Giants Tommy LaStella three hits and two RBIs whose been contributing big for the Giants offense on Sunday.

#4 LaMonte Wade Jr made a seventh inning throw to the plate to help save the game and Wade Jr has been doing great thing at the plate with a .250 average, 50 hits and 15 home runs.

#5 Meet the Mets: The New York Mets (59-57) come to Oracle Park and will start Rich Hill (6-4 ERA) and for the Giants Kevin Gausman (11-5 ERA 2.29) 6:45 pm (PDT)

Charlie O is filling in for Morris Phillips for the Giants podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Barbara Mason: Peters with two HRs helps Rangers defeat A’s; A’s open up three game series in Chicago tonight

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Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea gives up the big fly a two run homer to the Texas Rangers DJ in the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington (AP News photo)

On the A’s podcast with Barbara:

#1 Barbara a tough series in Arlington again the Oakland A’s lost two out of three the A’s are now three games out of first place in their chase of the Houston Astros.

#2 The A’s starting pitcher Sean Manaea gave up three runs in the first inning to the Rangers who jumped all over the A’s for seven runs and seven hits five innings.

#3 The DJ Peters hit two homers for the Rangers, Peters hit the fourth longest home run against the A’s at Globe Life Field that went into the second deck in left center field.

#4 Manaea has been struggling now 8-8 allowed 15 runs in his last 11 innings in his last three games.

#5 The A’s open up a four game series in Chicago against the White Sox on Monday night, the A’s will start Frankie Montas (9-8 ERA 3.98) and for the White Sox Dallas Keuchel (7-6 ERA 4.51) 5:10 pm first pitch.

Barbara does the A’s podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

A’s, Manaea roughed up in 7-4 loss to the Rangers

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By Morris Phillips

The look on Sean Manaea’s face? Not good.

After allowing a second home run on Sunday afternoon to Texas’ DJ Peters–or better yet, assisting Peters–Manaea looked up at the Globe Life Field retractable roof, and without saying anything, and just looking at his eyes, appeared to be saying, “What am I doing?”

In the grandest circuit of professional baseball anywhere in the world, you won’t see two, more majestically struck baseballs. Peters deserves credit, but Manaea would admit, he was more than helpful.

It’s been one of those seasons for Manaea: sometimes spectacular, sometimes awful, the A’s top line starter can’t find a groove from start to start. Manaea allowed seven earned runs in Sunday’s 7-1 loss, the second time he allowed as many runs this season. He also allowed five earned runs in a loss at the Coliseum two weeks ago to the Padres.

But in 12 of his 25 starts this season, Manaea’s been splendid, allowing zero or one earned run. In one stretch of five starts spanning June and July, Manaea strung together five such starts, including his four-hit, complete game shutout at Seattle on June 2. None of the last three starts for Manaea have fallen into the splendid category. With the season on the line, he needs to get back to winning.

“Giving up home runs, so, yeah,” Manaea said when asked what needs to change. “I guess, throwing stuff down the middle, I guess that counts as better command.”

“It was just some long balls that got him today,” manager Bob Melvin said of Manaea. “This is a tough stretch for him. A lot of guys go through tough stretches. You’ve got to pitch your way out.”

Manaea was both good and bad within Sunday’s start. He walked just one batter, struck out five, but five extra-base hits–three homers and two doubles– each chased home at least one run. None were cheap, especially the two hit by Peters. The 460-foot home run he tagged in the first inning was one of the longest hit in the short history of the new Arlington ballpark, and could be seen picking up passengers in flight.

“I just want to be as prepared as possible and do my homework, from the elite bullpen arms to the starters every day — watching films and taking notes,” Peters said of his breakout performance which netted him two of his four career home runs. “Obviously, I’m still new but being as prepared as possible is definitely key. That’s what all of the championship teams do.

Manaea departed trailing 7-1 after five innings, and that put the A’s in an impossible spot, but they still rallied with Mark Canha’s homer in the sixth, and RBI hits from Tony Kemp and Sean Murphy in the seventh and eighth. But the ninth brought no magic: Starling Marte flew out to left with a pair of runners aboard to end the ballgame.

Matt Chapman stayed hot with a solo shot in the 2nd off winning pitcher Koby Allard. He had three hits on the afternoon, and he’s homered three times in the first six games of the road trip.

The A’s have 44 games remaining, and as they’ve grown accustomed to in recent seasons, there are plenty of moving parts around them. The Astros also lost, so the A’s squandered an opportunity to get within 1 1/2 games of the AL West lead. The trio of wild card contenders in the AL East–Boston, New York and Toronto–all won with Boston equaling Oakland’s mark at 68-50.

Frankie Montas gets the start Monday in Chicago for the first of four games with the White Sox. Familiar face Dallas Kuechel gets the start for Chicago, and at age 33, the veteran may be losing velocity and fooling hitters less frequently. Kuechel has allowed 21 home runs in 22 starts this season.

Wood wins his 10th of the season defeats Rockies 5-2

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San Francisco Giants starter Alex Wood throws against the Colorado Rockies line up in the first inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Sun Aug 15, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-Two of the biggest plays of the series finale between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies came within minutes of each other.

Lamonte Wade, Jr., threw out Elias Diaz at the plate on a Connor Joe base hit that preserved the Giants led to end the top of the seventh inning and then Kris Bryant came off the bench to reach on a botched fielding play between Joe and Garrett Hampson that allowed Bryant to reach on a fielding error, as the Giants defeated the Rockies 5-2 before a crowd of 33,337 at Oracle Park.

Bryant reached second on the fielding error, then he gave the Giants a two-run cushion, when pinch hitter Austin Slater doubled in Bryant.

After Darin Ruf, the third pinch hitter in a row for the Giants was hit by a pitch on his elbow guard, Tommy LaStella singled to load the bases, and Wilmer Flores singled in Slater for the second run of the inning.

Brandon Belt was unable to drive in a run that could have broken the game wide open, as he flew out to Joe in left field for the first out of the inning. Just like Belt, Brandon Crawford was unable to help out at the plate, as he struck out for the second time in a row.

Robert Stephenson was able to get out of the jam, as he got Mike Yastrzemski to pop out to Ryan McMahon to end the threat.

Alex Wood pitched the first 6.2 innings for the Giants, as he gave up two runs on six hits, walking two and striking out six.

It was the 10th win of the season for Wood, who raises his record to 9-0 in games following a loss and the Giants are now 11-0 as a team in games Wood starts following a team loss.

With the victory, the Giants are now 40-18 at home this season, the best home record in the major leagues and just ahead of the Chicago White Sox, who are 40-21.

This was the Giants seventh win in a row in day games, and have won nine out of their last 10 games in day games.

The Giants finally got to Rockies starter Jon Gray in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Curt Casali singled to centerfield to score Yastrzemski, who led off the inning with a single, then stole his third base of the season. Following a walk to Wood to load the bases, Wade, Jr., struck out for the first out. Tommy LaStella hit a two-run double that just missed being a grand slam by inches to give the Giants a 3-0 lead.

Gray went 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out five and saw his record fall to 7-9 on the season.

Diaz got the Rockies on the board in the top of the seventh inning, as he singled to score Hampson. Charlie Blackmon came off the bench to single Yonathan Daza to get the Rockies within one run; however, Dominic Leone was able to get out of the jam, when Wade made that great throw to get Diaz to end the inning.

NOTES: Jay Jackson was reinstated form the injured list prior to the game, while Sammy Long was optioned to Sacramento. Luis Gonzalez was recalled from Sacramento and placed on the 60-day Major League Injured List, as he recovers from right shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum.

This is the Giants second best start thru 118 games since the team moved to California in 1958, trailing only the 1993 team that was 79-39 thru the same amount of games.

UP NEXT: Kevin Gausman takes the mound on Monday night, as he searches for his 12th win of the season, while Rich Hill will go for his seventh win of the season for the New York Mets. This is the beginning of a stretch that the Giants will see each other six times over the next 9 games, that concludes on August 26 at Citi Field in New York.

Big error costs Giants winning streak to Rockies 4-1

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Colorado Rockies centerfielder Yonathan Daza gloves then drops the ball on a San Francisco Giants Tommy LaStella base hit in the bottom of the fifth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO-On the night when Evan Longoria returned to the starting lineup for the San Francisco Giants, it was a costly error by another Giants infielder that eventually cost them their six-game winning streak.

Ryan McMahon hit a ball that Donovan Solano was unable to corral for an error, and that allowed Trevor Story from third base and the Colorado Rockies defeated the Giants 4-1 before a crowd of 32,282 at Oracle Park.

Brendan Rodgers led off the inning with a single that extended his hitting streak up to 16 games to lead off the inning, then Trevor Story singled and then Charlie Blackmon walk to load the bases with nobody out off of eventual losing pitcher Dominic Leone. C.J. Cron then drove in the eventual game-winning run, as he was able to leg out ball that was handled by Brandon Crawford, who flipped the ball from his glove to Solano for the first out; however, Cron was able to the throw to first base.

Leone went 0.1 innings, allowing two runs on two hits and walked one before being replaced by Jose Alvarez, as he fell to 2-2 on the season.

Solano then made the fielding error that extended the inning, as Story scored from third base with the second run of the inning.

Cron gave the Rockies an early lead in the top of the second inning, as he led off the top of the second inning with a solo home run off of starting pitcher Sammy Long.

The Giants tied it up in the bottom of the second inning, when Solano singled to centerfield and Longoria scored the tying run. Longoria reached on a fluke hit base hit that saw Cron unable to catch the wind drawn pop-up.

Long went two innings for the Giants, as he allowed one run on two hits, walked one and struck out four.

Zack Littell, who picked up the save on Friday night came on to replace Long and he went the next three innings, allowing just a walk and striking out four.

Kyle Freeland pitched the first six innings, allowing one run on five hits, walking one and striking out two and won for the fourth time on the season.

The Rockies added on an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning, as McMahon grounded into a fielders choice that saw Crawford tag out Cron.

NOTES: With Longoria being activated from the 60-day disabled list and being recalled from his rehabilitation assignment. Long was also recalled from Sacramento and too make room for Longoria, Thairo Estrada was optioned to Sacramento, and Jay Jackson was placed on the injured list.

With Longoria returning to the Major-League roster, the Giants now have every position player from the Opening Day roster back, with the exception of Mauricio Dubon, who is in Sacramento for the first time since April 21, when Solano hurt his right calf and was placed on the injured list on April 22.

When Wilmer Flores hit his three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning on Friday night, it was the 15th home run of the season for Flores and he is the sixth different Giants player with at least 15 home runs this season, joining Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, Lamonte Wade, Jr., and Mike Yastrzemski. Since moving to San Francisco in 1958, the Giants have never had more than six players with 15 plus home runs in a single season.

This was only the second loss of the season to the Rockies at Oracle Park, as the Giants are 7-2 in their home park this season, with Sunday being the last game in San Francisco this season.

The Giants still have to travel to Colorado twice more this season, as they are only 1-2 there this season. Over the last month of the season, the Giants and the Rockies play there six times.

UP NEXT: Alex Wood looks for his 10th win of the season, as he takes the mound on Sunday afternoon. While the Rockies will send right-hander Jon Gray to the hill, as he looks to even up his record at 8-8 on the season.