Tag: mlb

Angels knock off the A’s 9-7

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Photo credit: @NBCSAthletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Los Angeles Angels won a wild and wooly game Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum as they sent the A’s down to their fourth loss in the last five games by a score of 9-7. It was also the third loss in a row for the Green and Gold.

With the loss, the A’s now trail the Houston Astros by five games in the race for first place in the AL West and are 2 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card spot. Time is running for the Green and Gold as there are just 11 games left in the regular season. The A’s are now 90-61 on the season.

The Angels put one on the board in the top of the fourth. With one out, their all-world center fielder, Mike Trout, blasted his 35th home run of the year off Daniel Mengden. Mengden walked the next hitter, Justin Upton. Mengden retired Shohei Otani for the second out. Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons then lined a double off the wall in left center field. It went out like a rocket, and the A’s were able to get the ball back to the infield to prevent Upton from scoring. Mengden retired third baseman Tyler Ward for the third out. The Angels led 1-0 in the middle of the fourth inning.

The A’s answered by scoring four times in the bottom of the fourth. Angels manager Mike Scioscia replaced starter Tyler Skaggs with Cam Bedrosian. Skaggs made his first start since August 11th, and Scioscia had him on a pitch count. Skaggs did not allow a hit or  run in three innings of work. The A’s took advantage of Bedrosian’s wildness to load the bases with no outs. Bedrosian walked Jed Lowrie to start the inning. A’s DH Khris Davis singled to send Lowrie to second. Bedrosian walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases with no out. Bedrosian struck out the next two hitters and was in position to get out of the jam. A left fielder ripped a double that bounced off the base of the left field wall that cleared the bases. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy followed with a single to drive in Canha with the A’s fourth run of the frame. Scioscia changed pitchers, and reliever Noe Ramirez was able to retire Ramon Laureano for the final out of the fourth. The A’s led 4-1 after four.

Melvin went to his bullpen to start the sixth inning. The move turned out to be a disaster for the A’s as the Angels plated six runs on four hits. Shawn Kelley started the inning and faced Jose Fernandez. Kelley retired Trout for the first out. Justin Upton singled off Matt Chapman’s glove to put runners on at first and second. Melvin brought in lefty Ryan Buchter to pitch to Ohtani. That strategy failed as Ohtani singled to load the bases. Andrelto Simmons singled to drive in Fernandez and Upton. The Angels trailed 4-3. Melvin replaced Buchter with Lou Trivino. Trivino hit Taylor Ward with a pitch to load the bases. Kaleb Cowart hit his first home run of the run and his first grand slam. Trivino retired the next two hitters, but the damage was done. The Angels took a 7-4 lead.

The Angels put two more on the board in the top of the eighth. The A’s brought in their seventh pitcher of the night, Cory Gearrin, to face the Halos. Ohtani walked. Simmons followed with a single. Ward reached on a fielder’s choice. Ohtani was thrown out at third, but Chapman’s throw to first sailed past Matt Olson and went into right field. Simmons scored, and Ward ended up on third base. Cowart, who hit a grand slam in his last at-bat, tripled to drive in Ward with the Angels’ ninth run of the night.

The A’s rallied in the bottom of the eighth inning and scored three times to make it a 9-7 game. Jed Lowrie got things going when he walked for the third time in the game. Davis struck out, but singles by Piscotty and Olson allowed Lowrie to score. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien walked to load the bases. A’s outfielder Dustin Fowler was sent in to pinch hit for Josh Phegley. Fowler came through with a single to drive in Piscotty and Olson. Angels’ pitcher Ty Buttrey retired Ramon Laureano for the third out. The A’s had one more opportunity to either tie or get ahead in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The Angels’ seventh pitcher of the evening retired in order in the ninth to seal the win. The A’s lost 9-7.

Game Notes and Stats: Time of the game was three hours and 42 minutes. For all intents and purposes, it was a bullpen game for both managers. A’s manager Bob Melvin started Liam Hendriks for the first inning, and Daniel Mengden was able to go four innings with the Halos scoring just one run. Angels manager Mike Scioscia used seven pitchers to subdue the A’s.

Things went awry in the sixth and eighth innings as the A’s bullpen imploded and allowed the Angels to put eight runs on the board. The A’s used eight pitchers in the loss, and it appeared to many that the bullpen might be a bit tired at this stage of the season. Rookie Lou Trivino, who has been so good, was burnt by Kaleb Cowart when he hit his first homer of the year, and it was a grand slam to boot. Cowart also had a triple.

The A’s line was seven runs on seven hits and one error. The Angels’ line score was nine runs on nine hits and no errors.

The winning pitcher was the Angels’ third pitcher Noe Ramirez. Ty Buttrey earned his fourth save of the year.

The losing pitcher was the A’s Lou Trivino, who absorbed the loss. His record is now 8-3.

There were 15.031 fans in attendance as they watched their A’s go down to defeat.

Up Next: Game two will be played Wednesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Game time will be at 7:05 pm PDT.

Brett Anderson will go for the A’s. Anderson is hoping to rebound from two poor outings since coming off the DL.

Felix Pena will pitch for the Angels.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko Ukalovic: Giants take second game of three game set from Padres using regulars and second stringers

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

On the San Francisco Giants podcast with Marko:

#1 How much playing time do you expect Giants manager Bruce Bochy to give his call ups and reserves seeing the Giants’ postseason hopes fading?

#2 Bochy in the series has played it competitive winning on Monday night in San Diego 4-2 and using a lot of his regulars and second string bench and bullpen core.

#3 On Tuesday night at Petco the Giants just got by the Padres 5-4 to take a 2-0 lead in the series down 4-3 the Giants made hay in the Petco Park evening coming back to score two runs off Padres reliever Craig Stammen in the eighth.

#4 The Giants conclude this three-game series with the Padres on Wednesday night. The Giants will be looking to get a sweep and after suffering an 11-game losing steak that ended Friday. The Giants now have won four of their last five games.

#5 The Giants next opponent will be at Busch Stadium in St. Louis to open a three-game series with the Cardinals. The Giants will try and play spoilers in this one as the Cardinals are just 2 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Wild Card race.

Marko does the Giants podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O: Will the A’s stay with their bullpenning concept?; plus the future on A’s pitchers Triggs and Cahill

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On the Oakland A’s podcast with Charlie O:

1) The A’s continue to try the bullpenning concept to supplement their lack of starting pitching? Do you think they should stay with it or go another direction?

2) On the injury front: the news isn’t good Andrew Triggs – what’s happening with him?

3) Pitcher Trevor Cahill is rehabbing. What’s his status?

4) The A’s made a big announcement about their Triple-A team this week. Tell us about it and give us your opinion on the move.

Charlie O does the A’s podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary podcast: A’s unlikely to win AL West, but have a good shot at the AL Wild Card

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Amaury does his News and Commentary podcast with Marko Ukalovic, Jeremy Harness, and Joey Friedman from Scotts Seafood Restaurant in downtown San Jose.

It seems like 20 years ago when Oakland A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman was on the A’s roster at the beginning of the 2018 season. That was five an half months ago and the A’s saw pitcher Sean Manaea throw a no-hitter, but later to be put on the DL for Tommy John surgery, which ultimately ended his season and also his season for 2019.

Also, A’s pitcher Jharel Cotton also is having Tommy John. The A’s are 90-60 as of Monday night and they look like they’re going to make it to the playoffs. The last three years, the A’s finished in the cellar. They look like they caught lightening in a bottle. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson are the real thing and Marcus Semien is having a good year. It’s Semien’s bat that has him in the big leagues, not his glove.

Amaury has much more on the A’s drive to the playoffs at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: A’s vs. Brewers…The “Oh No” World Series for FOX Sports

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By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

There are two weeks left in the 2018 regular season. There are so many scenarios going into the postseason. For the networks, there are two dream World Series: 1) The Yankees and Dodgers, two of the most famous franchises with all the money in the world. They represent a very attractive scenario. Also, it would be a coast-to-coast affair. 2) The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs is another dandy.

Of course, the Houston Astros trying to win back-to-back World Series would make for another great story. It doesn’t matter who they will play. They are a team with a great rotation and some of the greatest players in baseball: José Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer, this year’s Astros Most Valuable Player, and Alex Bregman. Not to mention, a rotation like no other with Verlander-Cole-Keuchek-Morton along with a good bullpen.

The Cleveland Indians could also be there and they have not won a World Series since 1948. Although the Indians’ most recent appearance in the World Series was in a seven-game loss to the Florida Marlins in 1997.

As thrilled as the A’s fans would be to see their team again in the October Classic for the first time since 1990 when they were swept by Lou Piniella’s Cincinnati Reds, or the Milwaukee Brewers fans whose team last made it to the World Series in 1982 to see their Harvey Wallbangers go down it in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals, this would be a nightmare for Fox Sports, the official network for the World Series.

The baseball Gods are unpredictable, At the end this year it could be the A’s (with a 420,000 population) against the Brewers (with a 595,000 population). Obviously, these two teams will not bring the desired audience across the country that FOX Sports expects for a World Series like the previous match-ups I’ve mentioned. But maybe the country needs to know about unfamiliar names like: Laureano, Chapman, Olson, Piscotty, Treinen, Yelich,Aguilar, Harden and Shaw. World Series audiences are not all hardcore baseball fans. A big chunk of the audience are casual fans. However, if the Brewers met the A’s, there will be great curiosity. But in today’s television with 200 different channels, who knows who would tune in?

Yes, an A’s vs. Brewers World Series would be something. The Brewers look like a good bet for a wild card spot and the A’s can even still win the AL West, although it is unlikely, but they have one of the two wild card spots. I am not saying an A’s vs. Brewers October Classic is going to happen, but it could happen. For starters, who ever thought the A’s were going to win 90 or more games this season and finish second to the Astros? If you know of anybody, please let me know.

Notes: The Yankees have achieved one streak each of three, four, and five championships in a row, and the A’s have achieved a streak of three in a row. Back-to-back championships have been achieved an additional 10 times.

The Yanks were the last team to win back-to-back World Series from 1998-2000 when they won it in three consecutive years. If the Astros win this 2018 World Series, it will be the first time anybody has won it back-to-back in 18 years.

Listen to the A’s games in Spanish on KIQI 1010AM/990AM Bay Area, Sacramento and Stockton.

A’s to host the Angels in 3-game series starting Tuesday night

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Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

The A’s will return home after a splitting a six-game road trip against Baltimore and Tampa Bay. The A’s had an opportunity to gain ground on the New York Yankees for the first spot in the AL Wild Card race. The Yankees lost to Toronto on Saturday and Sunday, and had the A’s beaten the Rays on those days, they would have found themselves in the first spot. Unfortunately the A’s lost to the Rays on Saturday and Sunday. The A’s own a record of 90-60 for the year and have 12 games left to pass the Yanks. They fell 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the AL Division, and it is doubtful that the A’s would be able to catch them.

The goal for Bob Melvin and the surprising and swinging A’s is to win every one of the 12 games remaining on the schedule. That task will not be easy as they will play the Angels six times–three at home and three on the road in Anaheim. They finish the home season with three against the Minnesota Twins and go on the road for the final six games. The first three road games are in Seattle, and the last three will be in Anaheim.

The A’s are going to need for the offense and the bullpen to carry the load. The A’s starting rotation has been a work in progress all season. Four of their pitchers have had Tommy John surgery. Starters Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson have spent a couple of stints on the DL.

The A’s have resorted to “bullpenning” to fill the gap in the rotation. Reliever Liam Hendriks has been used to pitch the first inning, and A’s manager Bob Melvin brings in a pitcher such as Daniel Mengden or Chris Bassitt to go at least four or five innings and then turns the game over to the bullpen. Right now the rotation consists of Mike Fiers, Edwin Jackson, Brett Anderson, and Trevor Cahill. Cahill is going to miss a start due to an irritation in his throwing arm. The A’s are hopeful that will be able to make two starts before the end of the season. The other two spots are being bullpenned.

The A’s resume play with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The Angels won five of the first seven games played between the two clubs. The A’s won the last two series played and are 6-7 against LAA for the year.

The Angels, managed by Mike Scioscia, also had their pitching rotation ravaged by injuries. Garrett Richards, Blake Wood, Keynan Middleton, and J.C. Ramirez are all lost for the season and have undergone Tommy John surgery. Third baseman Zack Cozart and first baseman Albert Pujols will not play again this year. Cozart had shoulder surgery and Pujols, who will be in Baseball’s Hall of Fame five years after retirement, had knee surgery.

The Angels’ sensational rookie sensation, Shonei Ohtani, probably will not pitch again this year. He is also a candidate for Tommy John surgery. However, he is still playing as he is having a wonderful year at the plate as a hitter. His batting average is .290 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs. His OPS is .956.

The Angels, while decimated by injury to their pitching and position player, would love nothing better than to play spoilers. They have several players in the lineup that can do damage. Two-time MVP, Mike Trout, lead the Angel offense. Trout is having another excellent season and is a candidate for the MVP honor. He is hitting .318 with 34 homers and 70 RBIs. His OPS is an astounding 1.091. Trout is just 27 years old. Justin Upton has hit 30 dingers, and he has knocked in 84. He is hitting .263. The other outfielder, Kole Calhoun, is having a down year with an average of just .214 but he does have power as he homered 19 times and had driven in 57. The only infielder that fans might know is shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

On Tuesday night, the A’s will send Liam Hendriks to the hill to pitch the first inning. Hendriks has pitched very well in this role as he has allowed just two hits and one run in four appearances. Mengden or Bassitt will come in to start the second inning. The Angels will counter with lefty Tyler Skaggs. Skaggs will be making his first appearance since August 11th when he went on the DL. Skaggs is 2-5 with a 5.32 ERA against the A’s in eight career starts.

On Wednesday, The A’s lefty Brett Anderson will try to return to form. In his last two starts, he has allowed nine runs on 14 hits in just six innings of work. Righty Felix Pena will handle the pitching chores for LAA. In his last eight starts, Pena has a 3.75 ERA and has gone at least six innings in each of his previous six starts.

On Thursday, The A’s Edwin Jackson will be seeking his sixth win the campaign. Since his recall from the minors, Jackson has been a pleasant surprise. His record is 5-3, and the A’s have won 12 of his 15 starts. The Angels will counter with Matt Shoemaker. Since coming off the DL on September 3rd, he has a 3.68 ERA in the three starts he made for LAA.

The A’s know what’s at stake. They have to keep winning if they hope to pass New York. The Yanks have six remaining against Boston, and the Red Sox could help the A’s by beating the Yanks. If the A’s pass the Yanks, they will host the one-game playoff at the Coliseum. If not, they will head to the Big Apple and face the Yanks in Yankee Stadium. The Yanks have built their lineup to take advantage of the dimension down the right field line and the short porch in right field. The A’s will be playing in front of a very hostile crowd, and they cannot let the jitters get to them.

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: After taking two from Rockies, Giants could go into their call ups against Padres tonight

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On the Giants podcast with Morris:

#1 The Giants opened their series with the visiting Colorado Rockies on Friday and after losing 11 straight games the Giants had had enough and won their first two games on shutouts.

#2 Thanks to the Giants’ handy work, the Rockies were bumped from first-place, proving the Giants can hang with the Rockies.

#3 The Rockies did everything they could to prevent the Giants from winning with a 3-2 victory. Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela hit a two-run RBI single to help his cause.

#4 The Giants cut the lead to just a run when Joe Panik scored in the eighth inning, but the Giants could tie it up and get the sweep.

#5 The Giants open up a three-game series in San Diego tonight. The Giants in this series most likely will give their callup a look as both the Padres and Giants are most likely not going to make the postseason.

Listen to the Giants podcasts each Monday with Morris at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Giants lose to Rockies 3-2 in Sunday matinee finale

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Photo credit: @SFGiants

By: London Marq

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — It was a sunny and pristine mid-September afternoon at AT&T Park right by the Bay as the San Francisco Giants hosted the Colorado Rockies in the final matchup of a three-game series. Entering the game, the Giants sat 12 games back of the NL West-leading Dodgers, but have proved resilient against the Rockies, winning the first two games of the series to threaten the sweep. The Rockies sit in second place in the NL West and are competing with Wild Card Spot with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Rockies came into game three of this series looking to steal one back on the road and stay in playoff contention.

Determined not let the Giants play spoiler for the third time in a row, the Rockies were constantly swinging the bats. Giants’ rookie pitcher Dereck Rodriguez made it through the first inning unscathed, but with one out in the second inning, Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez reaches first base on an error. That was followed by Ian Desmond getting a single and Iannetta being walked. With the bases loaded, the Rockies’ pitcher Antonio Senzatela came to the plate and helped his own cause with a liner into left field, allowing Gonzalez and Desmond to score. A few batters later, still with only one out in the inning LeMahieu hit a sac-fly to center and Iannetta tagged up and scored.  The Giants eventually escaped the jam–down 3-0.

The score remained stagnant until the sixth when the Giants manufactured a run off two hits and a walk to bring Panik around to score and bring the score to 3-1 to end the sixth.

The Giants continued to push in the eighth inning when Panik would round the bases again to decrease the Rockies’ advantage to just one. The late game heroics gave the Giants a chance in the ninth, but the Rockies shut the door to show why they are in playoff contention. They got the win, 3-2.

The Giants, despite being well out of contention, prove that they can play competitive baseball. With rumors swirling, that manager Bruce Bochy may not be re-signed next season, series like this may go a long way to dispel such rumors.

The Giants will play three more series this season. Two of those series will be the Cardinals and Dodgers, both of whom are playoff contenders. The Giants will look to finish 2018 strong, play some spoilers, and get some quality wins before the offseason.

A’s can’t survive a night of bullpenning and home runs; Rays win 7-5

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Tampa Bay Jake Bauers
Jake Bauers hit the game-winning 3-run home run for the Rays Photo: @RaysBaseball

By Charlie O. Mallonee

If the Tampa Bay Rays were in the National League, they would be in the fight for a spot in the Wild Card game. They are not a walkover team anymore. The Rays have an 81-66 record this season. Unfortunately for the Rays and their fans, they play in the American League East where the Boston Red Sox have clinched the division with a 102-47 record to date, and the Yankees are in second place with a 91-57 record.

The Rays brought their “A game” on Saturday night as they handed the A’s their second loss on this six-game road trip 7-5. The game featured 21 hits, 4 home runs, 14 runners left on base, 15 strikeouts and 12 pitching changes over 3 hours and 19 minutes.

The loss was very costly for the A’s in their chase for the AL West crown and the home field advantage in AL Wild Card Game. The Astros beat the D-Backs 10-4 on Saturday and increased their lead over the A’s to 3.5 games. The A’s elimination number is now 11.

The A’s (90-59) had the opportunity to move within a half-game of the Yanks for the top Wild Card slot because the Bombers lost to the Blue Jays 8-7 on Saturday. Because Oakland lost, they remain 1.5 games behind New York in the second Wild Card spot.

More Bullpening
It was another bullpenning game for the A’s. Liam Hendriks was “the opener” on the mound for Oakland. He pitched one inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Dean Kiekhefer took over in the second inning and things did not go well for him. He gave up two runs (both earned) on three hits. The big blow came when Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer with one on and no outs. Ryan Dull had to come in to close out the inning.

Chris Bassitt was the “featured pitcher” of the game. He worked 3.0 innings giving up one run (earned) off two hits. He struck out three Rays and walked two.

Yusmeiro Petit was the next man up. Petit gave up a run (earned) off one hit.

The brightest spot of the night for the A’s may have been the performance of reliever Fernando Rodney in the seventh inning of the game. Rodney has really struggled recently but not in this game. Rodney gave up no runs while he struck out one and walked one.

Jeurys Familia would have rather stayed in the hotel. Familia was brought in to pitch the eighth inning. He only gave up one hit, but it was a go-ahead three-run homer by Jake Bauers that ultimately proved to be the game-winning hit. Familia (8-6) was tagged with the loss.

A’s with the bat

  • Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 and hit his 23rd home run of the season in the ninth inning off Sergio Romo.
  • The other Matt (Olson) had a 2-for-3 night at the plate and he hit his 27th homer of the year in this game.
  • Marcus Semien had a 2-for-4 night including a run scored. He was also involved in an incident with the home plate umpire that eventually caused A’s manager Bob Melvin to get ejected.

Rays’ notes

Tampa Bay Kelvin Kiermeier
The Rays Kevin Kiermaier hit a key triple in the game Photo: @RaysBaseball
  • The Rays went bullpening as well on Saturday. Ryne Stanek was the opener and then Yonny Chirinos was “the featured pitcher.” He lasted 5.1 innings.
  • Andrew Kittredge (2-2) was the eventual winner of the game.
  • Bauers not only hit a home run, he recorded four RBIs in the game.
  • Brandon Lowe had two RBIs, two runs scored in addition to his home run.
  • Kevin Kiermaier hit a triple and posted two RBIs

Up next

The A’s will send RHP Mike Fiers (12-6, 3.29 ERA) to the mound to face the Rays’ RHP Diego Castillo (3-2, 3.31 ERA) in the Sunday finale at 10:10 AM PDT.

Giants knock the Rockies out of first place with second straight shutout 3-0

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By Jeremy Kahn

SAN FRANCISCO — If you ever thought that the San Francisco Giants would help out the Los Angeles Dodgers, you would be not dreaming.

Austin Slater hit a ground ball for on out in the bottom of the second to score Brandon Crawford from third base, as the Giants defeated the Rockies 3-0 before 38,204 at AT&T Park on Saturday.

This was the second win in a row for the Giants, after they dropped a season-high 11 straight to begin the month of September, and this is the first time that they won back-to-back games since winning four in a row from August 25-28.

Coupled with the Dodgers’ 17-4 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, the longtime rival of the Giants is now in first place in the National League West and the Rockies fall into the second Wild Card Spot.

Madison Bumgarner went six innings, allowing no runs on five hits, walking one and striking out two and won for the sixth time this season.

Dating back to his start against the Houston Astros, Bumgarner has thrown 20 consecutive scoreless innings.

“Finish strong and competitive,” said Bumgarner.

Bumgarner was forced to leave the start tonight, despite throwing just 64 pitches, as he suffered tension in his right side.

“Little tightness in his side,” said manager Bruce Bochy.

Hunter Pence added a second run in that bottom of the second inning, as he singled to center field to score Nick Hundley.

As would have it, Bumgarner scored the final run of the game for the Giants, as he scored on a wild pitch thrown by German Marquez with Hundley at the plate in the bottom of the third inning.

Marquez also went six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out four, as he saw his record fall to 12-10 on the season.

Both teams were warned by Raymond DeJesus in the bottom of the third inning, after Marquez hit Evan Longoria, which came after Bumgarner hit D.J. LeMahieu in the top of the third inning. Marquez hit Slater on top of the helmet in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The top five hitters in their lineup all got hits, but they could not muster a run against the Giants for the second consecutive game. Those five hitters went a combined 5-for-17 against Bumgarner, Tony Watson, Mark Melancon and Will Smith.

The bullpen trio of Watson, Melancon and Smith went three innings, allowing two hits, not walking a batter and struck out five. Smith notched his 12th save of the season.

By being shut out on back-to-back evenings, the last time that the Rockies scored a run was in the bottom of the seventh inning of their 10-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field, a span of 19 innings. In that inning against the Diamondbacks, the Rockies scored five runs to put the game away.

NOTES: This was the 15th shutout of the season for the Giants, and it was the fourth time this season that have they have thrown back-to-back shutouts. They also did it on March and 30 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, June 1 and 2 versus the Philadelphia Phillies and on August 27 and 28 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Rockies have lost 11 out of their last 14 at AT&T Park.

This is the first time all season that the Rockies have been shutout in back-to-back games.

UP NEXT: The Giants and Rockies wrap up their series with a finale Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Giants rookie Dereck Rodriguez closes out the homestand on Sunday, as he takes the mound in search of his seventh win of the season, while Antonio Senzatela looks for his fifth win of the season for the Rockies.