skgoabc7.com photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija last just an inning before leaving due to tightness in his throwing shoulder while pitching against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Tuesday night
By Jeremy Kahn
There is one or two things that the San Francisco Giants did not need with just two games remaining on their three-city, eight-game road trip.
Jeff Samardzija lasted just one inning, where he gave up two runs on three hits and the Colorado Rockies defeated the Giants 11-4 at Coors Field.
Samardzija was forced to leave the game with his tightness in his right shoulder, the same right shoulder that saw the right-hander begin the 2018 season on the disabled list for the first time in his major-league career.
With the loss of Samardzija after just one inning, the Giants turned to Dereck Rodriguez, who made his major-league debut.
Rodriguez, who is the son of hall of fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez, went 3.1 innings, allowing four runs, with just one of them earned. He also drove in the Giants first run of the game, as he doubled over the head of Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez in the top of the fifth inning that cut the Rockies lead down to 5-1.
Unfortunately, Rodriguez’s debut ended on a sour note, as he took a line drive off the right calf in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Ian Desmond hit a ball up the middle.
Once again, the Giants defense was subpar, as they committed four errors on the evening, including two in the bottom of the fourth inning that saw the Rockies break the game wide open, as they scored three runs.
After Rodriguez was able to get the first outs of the inning via the strikeout, the floodgates of shoddy defense began. Kyle Freeland doubled, then Charlie Blackmon hit a ground ball to Kelby Tomlinson that he was unable to handle for his second error of the evening that allowed Freeland to scored. Blackmon went to third base on a throwing error by Brandon Belt and then both Gerardo Parra and Nolan Arenado each hit run-scoring doubles.
Tomlinson committed a third error in the bottom of the eighth inning, as his throw to Brandon Crawford on a Trevor Story groundball that pulled Crawford off of second base.
It was a good night on the mound for Freeland, as he went 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits, he also did not walk a batter and struck out three. Freeland evened up his record on the season at 5-5.
Evan Longoria hit two home runs in the same game for the first time since July 17, 2016, when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays. Longoria reaches 10 home runs on the season, just two months into the season, during the 2017 season, the Giants third basemen combined for eight home runs.
Buster Posey hit his third home run of the season.
NOTES: Derek Holland looks for his third win of the season, as the Giants look to end the road trip on a high note. Through the first seven games on the road trip, the Giants are 1-6. Rockies will send Jon Gray to the mound, as he looks for his first career win against the Giants. In his career, Gray is 0-2 with a 4.26 earned run average in four starts.
Madison Bumgarner will make his second rehab start on Thursday night, as he will throw between 70 and 75 pitches for class A San Jose.
Bumgarner is slated to make his season debut on June 5th at AT&T Park against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
UP NEXT: The Giants and Rockies continue their series Wednesday at 5:40 pm PST.
