Tag: AT&T Park

Bumgarner solid in season debut, but Giants lose to Dbacks 3-2

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — It took nearly two months, but Madison Bumgarner finally made his 2018 season debut for the San Francisco Giants.

Bumgarner went six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, while walking no one and striking out three; however, the Arizona Diamondbacks spoiled the night with a 3-2 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 36,925 at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.

The loss stopped the Giants’ five-game winning streak, as they fell to 4-1 on the six-game home stand versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

Through the first, Chris Owings got the Diamondbacks on the board in the top of the third inning, as he followed Ketel Marte’s double with one of his own. Kristopher Negron then made it 2-0, as he drove in Owings with a single to left field.

Paul Goldschmidt was locked in as he usually is against the Giants, as he picked up three hits in his only three at-bats off of Bumgarner.

This season against the Giants, Goldschmidt is hitting .429, as he is 12-for-28 with two home runs and five runs batted in. Against all other opponents this season, Goldschmidt is a combined 35-for-186, a .188 clip with six home runs and 15 RBIs.

Patrick Corbin was cruising into the fourth inning, as he did not allow a base runner until Andrew McCutchen got a base hit off of the left-hander to break up the no-hitter.

The Giants finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Mac Williamson hit a double to left field and then Brandon Crawford continues to hit the ball well, as he hit a double inside the third base line to score Williamson from second base.

Pablo Sandoval then hit a bloop single that fell in between Marte, Nick Ahmed and Owings that allowed Crawford to reach third base. Joe Panik then walked to load the bases, but Corbin regrouped to strikeout Bumgarner, Gorkys Hernandez and Buster Posey in succession to end the inning.

That fifth double by Crawford extended his home hitting streak up to 14 games, as 24-for-49 (.490) with 11 RBIs during the streak.

Corbin ended up going 6.1 innings, allowing x runs on just four hits, walking two and striking out seven in route to his raising his record to 6-2 on the season.

Mark Melancon made his second appearance of the season, as he replaced Bumgarner in the top of the seventh inning.

Melancon ended up going one inning, striking out two and throwing a wild pitch.

With a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning after loading the bases on walks against Corbin, Andrew Chafin and Yoshihisa Hirano, the Giants were unable to score, as Hirano got Posey to fly out to Jarrod Dyson to end the threat.

The Giants put two more on in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Evan Longoria singled with one out, then Crawford walked with two outs; however, Archie Bradley was able to regroup to get Sandoval to ground out to Ahmed to end the inning.

Hunter Strickland came on in the top of the ninth inning, and the Diamondbacks added another run, as Deven Marrero hit into Fielders’ Choice then Dyson walked and Jake Lamb hit a pinch-hit single that scored Marrero.

With one last chance to get back into the game, Alen Hanson hit a double that bounced on the right field line; however, the play was reviewed and after a brief 41 second review, the play stood. Boxberger then got Hernandez to strikeout swinging, and then Posey singled to right field to score Hanson from second base.

With McCutchen coming to the plate as the potential winning run, Austin Jackson came on to pinch run for Posey. McCutchen then singled to left field to bring up Longoria, who grounded out to Ahmed to end the game.

Brad Boxberger got the final three outs of the game, as he picked up his 14thsave in 15 opportunities.

NOTES: Chris Stratton will look to close the home stand on a high note, as he takes the mound for the Giants, and the Diamondbacks will send Clay Buchholz to the hill.

The game can be viewed on Facebook with Rich Waltz, Mike Krukow and Eric Byrnes on the call, and Ashley Adamson on the sidelines.

To make room for Bumgarner on the roster, Pierce Johnson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Thru the first five games, the Giants have outscored their opponents 24-7 with one game remaining on the home stand.

With their first pick (second pick overall) in the 2018 MLB Draft on Monday, the Giants selected Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart, who was the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Bart led the ACC in batting with a .359 clip, second in slugging at .632, and hits with 79. He also finished in the top 10 in home runs with 16, runs scored with 55, and on-base percentage at .471. His defense was outstanding as well, as finished the season with a career-best .992 fielding percentage.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Dbacks face off in a rubber match on Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PDT.

Rodriguez impresses in first MLB start, Giants beat Phillies 6-1 to complete sweep

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Photo credit: @BruceBochy

By: Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — Things were looking bleak for the San Francisco Giants, especially with the way Jake Arrieta was pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies.

That all changed in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Giants exploded for five runs off of Arrieta and the Giants came back to defeat the Phillies by the final score of 6-1 before a crowd of 40,491 at AT&T Park on Sunday afternoon.

The win not only completed the three-game sweep for the Giants, but gave Dereck Rodriguez his first major league win in his first major league start. In the three-game sweep, the Giants outscored the Phillies 12-1.

This was the first three-game sweep by the Giants over the Phillies since July 10-12 of 2015.

Rodriguez went six innings, allowing only one run on five hits, walking one and striking out six. The one run that allowed was a home run to Arrieta that gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning.

“He’s got a nice feel out there for pitching,” said Bruce Bochy. “He’s not afraid to throw secondary pitches at any time. Commands the ball well. He does the little things.”

The right-hander, who converted from an everyday player to a pitcher just five years ago is the first Giants rookie to win his first major league start since Joe Martinez on August 5, 2009 against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

It’s awesome, it’s a great feeling,” Rodríguez said. “We battled out there and in that sixth inning, the guys really pulled together and put up a five spot.”

Ryan Sadowski was the last Giants pitcher to win his major- league debut, and that came on June 28, 2009 against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Arrieta was cruising into the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Giants finally got to Arrieta and erupted for five runs.

Gorkys Hernandez got the rally started, as he singled off of Arrieta, following get knocked down by a Arrieta pitch, then Alen Hanson then singled and then Joe Panik tied up the game with a single to right-center field. Buster Posey then drove in Hanson for the eventual game-winning run, and then Andrew McCutchen put the second pitch he saw from Arrieta in the at-bat onto the arcade for his fourth home run of the season.

McCutchen broke a 159-plate appearance streak since his last home run, the longest such streak of his career. His home run to right field was the first by a right-handed batter at AT&T Park since Nick Hundley did it on May 2 against Clayton Richard of the San Diego Padres.

In all, Arrieta also went six innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, not walking a batter and striking out four. With the loss, Arrieta fell to 5-3 on the season.

The five runs that Arrieta allowed in the bottom of the sixth inning, matched the total amount of runs that he allowed in the month of May (three earned) in 30 innings of work. His streak of 33.0 innings of not allowing a home run ended on the McCutchen home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, where the Giants scored five of their six runs.

Mark Melancon made his season debut in the top of the seventh inning, and struck out the side before giving way to Will Smith.

“It’s been a long time,” Melancon said. “So, it’s a really good feeling to be back and help these guys out and it was fun. A lot of fun.”

Buster Posey put the finishing touches on the scoring, as he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. It was the fourth home run of the season for Posey. Last season, Neris hit Posey, and accused Neris of hitting him on purpose.

“I don’t know, I was just trying to go about the at-bat and fortunately, it turned out in my favor,” Posey said.

Since his return from the disabled list, Joe Panik picked up multiple hit games in all three games, and prior to his stint on the disabled list, Panik had only one multi hit game in his last eight games.

NOTES: Derek Holland looks to extends the Giants winning streak to four games, as the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks head to town and send Zack Godley to the mound.

The Phillies are the first team in major league history to score one run in a three-game series and their only run coming on a home run by their pitcher, according to STATS, LLC.

Rodriguez is the fifth Giants rookie this season to pick-up a win for the team, joining Reyes Moronta, Andrew Suarez, Pierce Johnson and Roberto Gomez.

UP NEXT: The Giants will host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game series starting Monday night at 7:15 pm PST.

A pair of Andrews lead the Giants to a 2-0 shutout of Phillies

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — After being total dismantled by the Philadelphia Phillies less than three weeks ago, the San Francisco Giants have totally turned the tables through the first two games of this series.

Andrew Suarez went seven innings for the first time in his career, as the Giants shutout the Phillies 2-0 before a crowd of 39,208 at AT&T Park on Saturday night.

Suarez allowed only three hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five, as he won for the second time this season.

“I had a good feel, and Hundo (Nick Hundley) called a great game,” said Suarez.

Suarez was the first Giants pitcher since Ty Blach on May 5th against the Atlanta Braves at Sun Trust Park to go at least 7.0 innings. In that game versus the Braves, Blach went 7.2 innings.

Coupled with Friday’s shutout over the Phillies, this is the first time since September 26, 1963 and May 19, 1964 that the Giants have shut the Phillies out in back-to-back games.

The Giants finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning as Joe Panik doubled off of eventual losing pitcher Vince Velasquez, went to third on a Brandon Crawford and then made a great slide to avoid the Jorge Alfaro tag at home plate on a ball hit by Andrew McCutchen to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. The play was so close that Phillies manager Gabe Kapler challenged the call, and after a 1:35 review, the call stood and the Giants were in the lead.

McCutchen made the play of the night in the top of the third inning, as with Alfaro on third base after he tripled to lead off the inning and then with two outs, Cesar Hernandez hit that was headed for the right-center field alley that would have given the Phillies the lead; however, McCutchen made a great running catch to end the inning.

“Catch everything that you have to rundown,” said McCutchen.

The Giants got an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as Panik singled and then went to third on a Brandon Crawford single and scored the all-important second run, as the throw from Odubel Herrera was cut off by Carlos Santana.

Hundley picked up his first multi-hit game since May 2, as he went 2-for-3 on the evening.

Bruce Bochy turned the game over to his bullpen in the eighth inning, and Tony Watson threw just six pitches to retire the side in order. This was the 500th career appearance for Watson, who made his major-league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 8, 2011 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This was a tough loss for Velasquez, who went five innings, allowing one run on five hits, walking one and striking out nine. In his two starts versus the Giants this season, Velasquez struck out 21 batters.

NOTES: Dereck Rodriguez makes his first major league start on Sunday, as he will face Jake Arrieta, who is 5-2 in his first season with the Phillies. In his career versus the Giants, Arrieta is 1-0 with a 2.84 earned run average.

In his lone appearance as a big leaguer, Rodriguez pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) and five hits before being forced to leave the game with a shin contusion on his right shin.

Brandon Belt was placed on 10-day disabled list after having an emergency appendectomy on Saturday morning.

“Looks like three weeks or in that area before he will be back,” said Bruce Bochy about the return of Belt.

Alen Hanson returned from his rehab assignment with Single-A San Jose and was activated from the 10-day disabled list.

Hunter Pence also returned from his rehab assignment, and was activated from the 10-day disabled list.

To make room for Pence on the roster, Gregor Blanco was designated for assignment and will be outrighted to Sacramento, where he will report on Tuesday, this according to Bochy.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Phillies conclude their series with a finale on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PST.

Panik returns, Stratton dominates in Giants’ 4-0 shutout of Phillies

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — After striking out 55 times when they were swept against the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco struck out eight times in the opener.

Chris Stratton pitched six innings, allowing just four hits, walking just one and striking out seven, as the Giants defeated the Phillies 4-0 before a crowd of 38,119 at AT&T Park.

This is the fourth consecutive win for Stratton, who improves to 7-3 and it was the longest that game Stratton went since going 6.2 innings in a game where he did not fare in the decision against the Washington Nationals on April 23rd at AT&T Park, a game that the Giants would win by the final score of 4-2.

Joe Panik made his return to the team from the disabled list a memorable one, as he walked twice and singled twice and ended the night going 2-for-3. Panik also scored the Giants first run of the game, and drove in a run with a single in the bottom of the second inning that scored Mac Williamson.

This was the first time that Panik reached base four times in the same game since he got four hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 27, 2017.

The win by the Giants stopped a six-game losing streak, including the four-game sweep at Citizens Bank Park last month. This was the Giants’ eighth win over the Phillies at AT&T Park since 2015, their second-best record against any National League team. With the win, the Giants moved within three games of the Colorado Rockies in the NL West after the Rockies lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field and the Giants and Dodgers are tied for third place in the NL West.

Brandon Belt was forced to leave the game after his only at-bat in the first inning, where he struck out and was in the hospital, where he was being evaluated for appendicitis.

Nick Pivetta, who struck out seven Giants in his last start did not fare as well this time, as he went four innings, allowing three runs on five hits, walking three and striking out three.

Evan Longoria got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the first inning when he singled to score Panik, who led off the inning by being walked against Pivetta.

Panik drove in the Giants second run of the game in the second inning, as he singled in Williamson, who led off the inning with a walk.

That would be the score, when Gorkys Hernandez continued his hot streak, as he singled to left field to score Brandon Crawford, who led off the inning with a double.

On the evening, Crawford went 2-for-4, as he came off of a month, where he hit .412 (42-for-102) with nine doubles, four home runs and 21 runs batted in.

The Giants scored their fourth and final run of the evening in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Andrew McCutchen tripled to lead off the inning and then scored on a wild pitch by Hector Neris with Pablo Sandoval at the plate.

In his only inning of work, Neris gave up a run on three hits, struck out three and threw three wild pitches.

Neris joined Frank Hermann as the only Phillies pitchers to have thrown three wild pitches in one inning or less. Hermann did it on August 21, 2016 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.

Dylan Cozens made his major-league debut for the Phillies, and singled in his first at-bat against Stratton in the top of the third inning.

The Phillies got a late rally going in the top of the ninth inning off of Hunter Strickland, as Scott Kingery narrowly beat out a throw by Panik at first base for an infield hit and then Odubel Herrera lashed a double down the right field line that sent Kingery to third base. Strickland then regrouped to strikeout Carlos Santana, then Maikel Franco to groundout to Strickland, where he made a great play to Franco at first base and finally got out of the jam, when Nick Williams flew out to Hernandez for the final out.

Overall, the Giants bullpen pitched the final three innings, and the trio of Tony Watson, Sam Dyson and Strickland gave up two hits, did not walk a batter and struck out six.

In his first season with the Giants, Watson likes pitching at AT&T Park, as he has yet to allow an earned run at home this season and is the only reliever to pitch more than 12 innings at home without allowing an earned run this season.

NOTES: Andrew Suarez will take the mound on Saturday night, as the Giants look for their third consecutive win, while the Phillies will send Vince Velasquez to the mound.

There were a multitude of roster moves made by the Giants, as Tyler Beede was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento following Wednesday’s game against the Rockies.

Kelby Tomlinson was optioned to Single-A San Jose.

Mark Melancon was activated from the 60-day disabled list, and Jose Valdez was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list and was then Designated for Assignment.

Dereck Rodriguez will start on Sunday in place of Jeff Samardzija. This will be the first major league start for Rodriguez, who made his major-league debut on Tuesday against the Rockies at Coors Field.

With Rodriguez in the rotation, Ty Blach is being moved to the bullpen and will be the Giants long man.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Phillies will meet in Game 2 on Saturday night at 7:05 pm PST.

Belt continues power surge in Giants’ 9-5 win over Rockies

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–Brandon Belt gave the San Francisco Giants the lead for good with one swing of the bat.

Belt hit a three-run home run off of Jake McGee in the bottom of the seventh inning, helping the Giants to a come-from-behind 9-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies before a crowd of 40,334 at AT&T Park Sunday.

“You feel good when he is up there,” said Bruce Bochy.

With the victory, the Giants gained a split in their first series against the Rockies, who they will see beginning on May 28 for a three-game series at Coors Field.

The Giants also finished the home stand on a high note, as they won the final two games of the home stand and went 4-3 against the Cincinnati Reds and Rockies.

Gorkys Hernandez hit his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning, a two-run blast to straightaway centerfield that looked like a lazy fly ball; however, the Bay Area wind let it sail over the centerfield wall to get the Giants within a run of the Rockies. Miguel Gomez hit a pinch-hit single just before the Hernandez home run.

“Gorkys had a huge hit, Tommy (Tomlinson) had a huge hit into the gap,” said Bochy.

Just one inning later, the Giants took their first lead of the game, as Kelby Tomlinson tripled to the left-center field wall that scored both Belt, who singled to lead off the inning and Brandon Crawford, who walked with one out.

“Just trying to put together a nice at-bat, swung the bat well today and yesterday,” said Tomlinson.

The Rockies tied up the game in the top of the seventh inning, as Ian Desmond walked to lead off the inning, then stole second and went to third on a Nick Hundley throwing error. Nolan Arenado then tied up the game with a single up the middle off of Giants reliever Sam Dyson.

Ty Blach went just 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out one, as he did not fare in the decision.

Like Blach, Tyler Anderson did not fare in the decision for the Rockies, as he went 5.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits, walking one and striking out four.

Hernandez got the rally started in the bottom of the seventh inning, as he singled to lead off the inning, and after a Buster Posey fly out to centerfield, Evan Longoria then walked and then Belt hit his 11thhome run of the season. Hundley then extended the lead, as he hit his fifth home run of the season.

The Giants took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as Posey tripled to the 421’ mark in right-center field and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Noel Cuevas, who made a terrific catch to take an extra base hit away from Longoria.

The Rockies finally broke through in the top of the fourth inning, as Trevor Story doubled in Arenado, who led off the inning with a single. Cuevas then singled to score Story from second base.

Blach was then sent to the showers in the top of the fifth inning, as Anderson helped out his own cause, as he singled to lead off the inning and then on a Story single. After Chris Iannetta popped out for the second out of the inning, Cuevas drove in his second run of the game, with a bases loaded walk to give the Rockies a 4-1 lead.

Will Smith continues to make great strides as he comes back from Tommy John Surgery that kept him out for the entire 2017 season. In his only inning of work, Smith struck out the side.

“He has been throwing the ball so well,” said Bochy.

NOTES: After an off-day on Monday, the Giants open a brief two-game series at Minute Maid Park against the defending World Champion Houston Astros. Andrew Suarez will take the mound in the opener for the Giants, while Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the Astros.

The off-day on Monday, will be their first off-day since May 3, the day before the beginning of their three-city, 10-road trip thru Atlanta, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. During the streak of playing 17 days in a row, the Giants went 8-9.

Mac Williamson continues to swing the bat well, as he through his first two games with the Sacramento Rivercats on his rehab assignment, Williamson is 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a double and two home runs and six runs batted in.

Hunter Pence went 2-for-5 on Saturday night with an RBI, and is now hitting .321 (18-for-56) with two doubles, six RBIs, and four walks in his 14 games with the Rivercats, as he recovers from his sprained right thumb.

UP NEXT: The Giants will return to action Tuesday against the Astros at 5:10 pm PST.

Crawford continues to swing bat well; Giants defeat Rockies 9-4

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Photo credit: @MLB_News247

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–Brandon Crawford continues to swing the bat well, and with that the San Francisco Giants broke out of their recent funk.

Crawford went 3-for-5 on the afternoon, as the Giants came back to defeat the Colorado Rockies 9-4 before a crowd of 39,195 at AT&T Park Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, the Giants put a stop to their modest three-game losing streak and defeated the Rockies best pitcher in the process.

After scoring just seven runs during the three-game losing streak, the Giants scored in every inning between the second and sixth innings.

Crawford got the ball rolling for the Giants in the bottom of the second inning, as they trailed the Rockies 2-0 at the end of an inning and a half.

After leading off the inning with a single, Crawford was forced out at second base on a Miguel Gomez ground out, Gorkys Hernandez continues his hot hitting, as he doubled to left field that sent Gomez to third base. Chris Stratton then helped out his own cause, as he drove in his first major league run with a ground out to Trevor Story at shortstop.

The Giants took the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning, as they loaded the bases, as Andrew McCutchen singled, Buster Posey singled, then Brandon Belt walked to load the bases. After Evan Longoria flew out for the first out of the inning, Crawford lashed a double down the left field line that scored both McCutchen and Posey.

Gomez then got in on the act, as he singled in Belt for the third run of the inning and the Giants took a 4-2 lead.

After the Rockies cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth inning, as Daniel Castro grounded into a double play that scored Desmond, the Giants came back with a run of their run in the bottom of the inning.

Gregor Blanco tripled just past the second baseman, and after both McCutchen and Posey were unable to bring in Blanco, Belt greeted reliever Chris Rusin with a single to right-center field to extend the Giants lead up to 5-3.

The Rockies would not go away, as they clawed back in it to get within one run, as Blackmon led off the inning with a single of his own. Gerardo Parra then singled Blackmon to third base.

The defensive play of the game came up next, as Story hit a single to right that scored Blackmon and McCutchen came up throwing and tried to get Parra at third base. Bruce Bochy challenged the call, as it looked like Longoria tagged Parra and after a 1:57 review, the call was reversed.

McCutchen blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he hit a two –run double that scored Austin Jackson, who picked up a pinch-hit single off of Rusin and Gomez, who led off the inning with a single of his own.

Crawford capped off his big day in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he hit a two-run home run off of Brooks Pounders.

Over his last 18 games, Crawford is 31-for-69 (.448) with 16 runs batted in and thru the first six games of the home stand, he is 12-for-22, a .545 clip.

Every member of the Giants starting lineup with the exception of Stratton picked up a hit, as McCutchen joined Crawford with three hits. Posey, Belt and Gomez each picked up two hits, as the Giants got 17 hits on the afternoon.

Stratton went the minimum five innings, as he allowed four runs (three earned), allowing eight hits, walking two and striking out one, as he won for the fifth time this season.

Gray, who was unable to get out of the fourth inning, allowed five runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out four and saw his record fall to 4-6 on the season.

NOTES: Ty Blach looks to end the series and the home stand on a high note, as he takes the mound on Sunday afternoon, while the Rockies will send Tyler Anderson to the mound.

Mac Williamson went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in his first rehab game on Friday for the Sacramento Rivercats against the Salt Lake Bees. Williamson last played on April 24, a span of 24 games after crashing into the wall near the Giants bullpen in left field and suffered a concussion.

Hunter Pence went 2-for-4 in the same game, as is now hitting .314 with two doubles and five runs batted in in his 13 games with the Rivercats. Over his last seven games, Pence is hitting .393, as he is 11-for-28 during that stretch.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Rockies’ series finale is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PST.

Desmond does a number on Giants in Rockies’ 6-1 win

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Photo credit: @MLB_News247

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–Ian Desmond may be getting booed at Coors Field after his slow start with the Colorado Rockies, but he loves playing at AT&T Park.

After going 0-for-4 in the first game of the four-game series against the San Francisco Giants, the new Rockies first baseman could begin to change the opinion of Rockies fans with one swing of the bat.

Desmond cranked a three-run home run off of Derek Holland in the top of the fourth inning, as the Rockies defeated the Giants 6-1 before a crowd of 40,970 at AT&T Park Friday night.

Prior to going 2-for-4 on the evening, Desmond was 30-for-89 (.337) with a home run and 13 runs batted in.

Kyle Freeland went 6.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking one and striking out five on his way to his fourth win of the season.

As for Holland, he went six innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking one and striking out three and his record fell to 2-5 on the season.

Holland was cruising along until the top of the third inning, when Nolan Arenado walked to lead-off the inning, then Trevor Story singled and after a Noel Cuevas strikeout, Desmond took a Holland offering and planted it into the left-center field bleachers.

Gorkys Hernandez got the Giants off to a quick start, as he hit a home run to lead-off the bottom of the first inning. It was the third home run of the season for Hernandez and his second of the week, as he hit a solo home run to the top of the fifth inning on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

Desmond added another run batted in, as he doubled off of Holland to score Arenado, who doubled to lead-off the top of the sixth inning.

Charlie Blackmon put the finishing touches on the scoring for the Rockies, as he hit a Jose Valdez offering and planted it on the right-field arcade for a two-run home run. It was the 12thhome run of the season for Blackmon.

Arenado also lived up to why he is the winner of the last five Golden Gloves, as he made a diving stab at a Kelby Tomlinson groundball and threw Tomlinson out from his knees behind third base.

NOTES: Chris Stratton will look to stop the Giants three-game losing streak, as he takes the mound on Saturday afternoon, as he looks for his fifth win of the season. The Rockies will send right-hander Jon Gray to the mound, as his looks to win his fifth.

Mac Williamson began his rehab assignment today for the Sacramento Rivercats, and he went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run. Austin Slater followed up the Williamson home run one of his own, as the duo went back-to-back, as Slater also went 1-for-4 in the 7-3 Rivercats win over the Salt Lake Bees.

Hunter Pence continues his rehab assignment for the Rivercats, and he went 2-for-4 on the evening in Salt Lake City.

The hitting star of the night for the Rivercats was Chase d’Arnaud, who went 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs batted in.

This was the 500th career appearance for Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw, who came on to replace Freeland in the bottom of the seventh inning.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Rockies will face off for Game 3 Saturday afternoon at 1:05 pm PST.

Rockies outlast Giants 5-3 in 12 innings

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Harness

SAN FRANCISCO – Carlos Gonzalez has a pretty nice track record against the Giants, and that continued Thursday night.

After the Rockies used walks to load the bases in the 12th inning, Carlos Gonzalez brought in two runs with a bloop single off reliever Cory Guerrin just beyond the outstretched arm of second basemen Kelby Tomlinson to break a 3-3 tie and ultimately give Colorado a 5-3 win at AT&T Park.

The Giants put together a rally in the bottom of the 12th, putting two runners on, but the rally fell short with a popout.

The Giants got a nice outing from starter Jeff Samardzija, who went 6 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He issues three walks and struck out three, but he did not factor in the decision.

The Rockies got to Samardzija (1-2, 6.94 ERA) in the second, getting three runs off the big right-hander to race out to an early lead. The final blow of the inning came when Samardzija’s pitching counterpart, Chad Bettis, singled in a run.

In the third, however, Samardzija exacted a little revenge by lining a single off Bettis, which moved Austin Jackson to third. A sac fly by the ensuing batter, Gorkys Hernandez, brought in Jackson to narrow Colorado’s lead to 3-1.

Bettis (4-1, 3.12 ERA) went six full innings and surrendered three runs on five hits, walking two and striking out five.
The Giants then used a two-out rally in the sixth to tie it up. Buster Posey drew a walk before Brandon Belt lined one just over the brick wall in right-center.

The hit was initially ruled a double, as the ball ricocheted hard back into the field of play, but the umpiring crew got together and upon review, the ball was found to have cleared the wall and instead hit the railing just beyond it, resulting in a game-tying two-run home run.

Meanwhile, Samardzija settled down very nicely after that turbulent second inning, shutting Colorado’s bats down from that point until he left the game in the seventh. Thursday night marked his longest outing of this brief season. After starting the season on the disabled list with a strained pectoral muscle, Samardzija went 5 2/3 innings in a 6-5 loss to Pittsburgh last Saturday.

Will Smith and Sam Dyson took over for Samardzija and did not allow a single baserunner over the ensuing inning and a third.

The Giants were down to their last out in the ninth when Brandon Crawford’s chopper was just out of the reach of Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino, which Crawford used to leg out an infield single. He then stole second, but Austin Jackson grounded out weakly to third, sending the game to extras.

The Giants and Rockies face each other again Friday night at 7:15 pm PST.

Belt goes swimming, Crawford goes 4-for-4 in Giants’ 5-3 win over Reds

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–After allowing three runs in the first four innings, you knew that it would be long night for Ty Blach.

Luckily, Blach’s teammates helped him out, as they came back with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and the San Francisco Giants defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 before a crowd of 37,809 at AT&T Park Tuesday night.

Brandon Belt got the rally started with one swing of the bat, as he took a Tyler Mahle offering and it landed in McCovey Cove for Belt’s eighth home run of the season.

Following the Belt Splash Hit, the Giants got three straight singles from Evan Longoria, Brandon Crawford and Austin Jackson. After a strikeout by Kelby Tomlinson, pinch-hitter Pablo Sandoval lashed a Mahle pitching inside third and down the line to tie up the game.

“I was surprised at the situation,” said Sandoval.

Gregor Blanco then singled to reload the bases, Andrew McCutchen narrowly beat Scooter Gennett’s throw from second for a Fiedlers’ Choice to score Jackson with the go-ahead run.

“Cutch looking good hustling down the line,” said Bruce Bochy.

Blach went four innings, allowing three runs (one of them earned) on five hits, walking one and striking out one.

Eugenio Suarez got the Reds on the board, as he hit a two-run home run off of Blach in the top of the third inning. The Suarez home run came just after Tomlinson committed a fielding error at second base that allowed Jesse Winkler to reach base.

The Reds added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning, as Billy Hamilton drove in Tony Cruz, who singled with one out, then went to second on a Mahle sacrifice bunt.

It was another nice night for Crawford at the plate, as he continues to hit the ball well, as he went 4-for-4 on the evening and is 9-for-12 over his last three games.

Mahle, who pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, while walking one and striking out two, saw his record fall to 3-5 on the season.

The perfect pitched fifth inning by Pierce Johnson gave the right-hander his second win of the season, as he struck out one.

All in all, the five bullpen pitchers that included Johnson, Will Smith, Sam Dyson, Tony Watson and Hunter Strickland went five innings, allowing no runs on four hits, not walking a batter and struck out eight to preserve the Giants third win in a row and clinching the series.

“Had guys that were fresh,” said Bochy.

NOTES: Andrew Suarez looks for his second major league win, as he takes the mound on Wednesday afternoon, as the Giants look for their first three-game sweep over the Reds since May 3-5, 2002. Matt Harvey will make his second start for the Reds since being acquired from the New York Mets for catcher Devin Mesoraco on May 8.

Austin Slater was optioned to Sacramento after Monday’s 10-7 victory over the Reds, while Miguel Gomez was recalled from Double-A Richmond.

The Belt Splash Hit in the bottom of the fourth inning was the 78thhit into McCovey Cove since the ballpark opened on April 11, 2000. It was the eighth Splash Hit for Belt, tying him with Sandoval, who hit his eighth earlier this season on April 4 off of Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners.

Belt and Sandoval are tied for second place behind Barry Bonds, who hit 35 in his eight years playing at AT&T Park.

UP NEXT: Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PST.

Hosmer’s 9th inning HR lifts Padres to 3-2 win over Giants

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Photo credit: @NBCSGiants

By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO–Eric Hosmer definitely remembers AT&T Park from playing here in the 2014 World Series for the Kansas City Royals, and he got a little redemption Monday night.

Hosmer hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning off of Hunter Strickland with two outs, as the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-2 before a crowd of 36,735 at AT&T Park.

It was the only hit or runner that Strickland allowed in his only inning of work.

With the victory, the Padres evened up the three-game series and the win went Kirby Yates, and the save went to Brad Hand, who was unfortunate losing pitcher on Monday night after he allowed two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning

This loss by the Giants was a double whammy, as it was discovered before the game that right-hander Johnny Cueto was placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Sunday with inflammation in his right elbow.

“Obviously not good news, when you have to put him on the DL,” said Bruce Bochy, who added, “Bum (Madison Bumgarner) and now him.”

Unfortunately, former Oakland A’s pitcher and Oakland native Tyson Ross did not fare in the decision.

Ross, who went to Bishop O’ Dowd High School in Oakland, went six innings, allowing just one run on four hits, while walking three and striking out nine.

It was also a tough no decision for Andrew Suarez, who went seven innings, allowing just two runs, while scattering four hits, walking just one and striking out five.

“Did a real nice job for us to win,” said Bochy.

Suarez was helped by the Giants defense, as the Giants turned three double plays and they all were started by Alen Hansen.

Christian Villanueva gave the Padres a 1-0 in the top of the first inning, as he hit a solo home run off of Suarez.

“I left the ball up to Villanueva,” said Suarez.

The Padres tacked on another run in the top of the fourth, as Hosmer hit a triple to right-center field and then scored on a Jose Pirela groundout to second base.

Hansen scored the Giants first run of the evening in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Hansen singled to lead off the inning, stole second and then scored on an Andrew McCutchen single.

The Giants tied up the game in dramatic fashion, as after they were two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, the rally began with a Gregor Blanco double down the right field line just out of the reach of Hosmer at first base.

Blanco then went to third on a wild pitch by Craig Stammen, which came on ball four to Andrew McCutchen. Buster Posey then tied up the game, as he hit a double to right field that easily scored Blanco from third base.

NOTES: Derek Holland looks to close out the home stand on a winning note, as he will take the mound against the Padres left-hander Clayton Richard.

Will Smith, who missed all of the 2017 season after Tommy John surgery, appeared in what could have been his last rehab assignment for triple-A Sacramento on Sunday. Smith pitched a scoreless inning

Hunter Pence, who is currently on the disabled list with a right thumb sprain began his rehab assignment on Friday night with Sacramento and is 3-for-12 with four runs scored and a walk in three games.

The Padres became just the 22nd time in major league history to have at least 30 plate appearances in a win, and no runners left on base (Since 1908), this according to Baseball Reference).

UP NEXT: The Giants and Padres close out their series at AT&T Park Tuesday afternoon at 12:45 pm PT.