The San Francisco Giants Austin Slater (left) is tagged out at the plate by Colorado Rockies catcher Elias Diaz (35) in the bottom of the sixth inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)
Colorado (34-55). 200 000 300 – 5. 9. 0
San Francisco (48-40) 000 002 000. – 2. 5. 0
Time: 2:15
Attendance: 33,886
Friday, July 7, 2023
By Lewis Rubman
SAN FRANCISCO–The 2023 season has been a nightmare from which the Colorado Rockies have been trying to wake. They came to Oracle Park today in fifth place in the NL West, with a record of 33-55, having lost seven of their last 10 contests and 10 games in a row on the road. After much tossing and turning, Bud Black announced that his starting pitcher would be Austin Gomber.
His lifetime record at game time was 27-26, 5.05 over nine and a fraction years in the show, and his season’s mark was 6-7, 6.64. He features a four seamer, which he throws 41.9% of the time, a change of pace (20%), curve (18.9%), slider (17.8), and a sinker (1.4%),
It’s not as if the Giants have been getting many good nights’ sleep recently either. But in their case, it’s literally so. Time zones, distance, and the calendar have conspired with injuries to make San Francisco go 5-8 since June 21. Even before their recent fall from grace, the Giants had been plagued by sloppy fielding, with misplays that didn’t count as errors but which still cost the team runs.
I’m thinking of things like uncompleted double plays, throws to the wrong bases, and Alphonse and Gaston acts on pop flies. In addition, they began play today leading the majors in errors committed. The Giants’ combination of young players still learning the game and veterans playing out their last seasons won’t go away with a few days’ rest.
In this context, Gabe Kapler and Andrew Bailey’s choice for their starter, Ross Stripling, who had an 0-2, 6.51 record when he toed the rubber in the top half of the first of what turned out to be 5-2 Giants loss wasn’t one that inspired confidence in the team’s ability to hang on the two more days before the all star break provides a respite for the everyone on the roster except Camimo Doval.
Two more days of poor play won’t make or break the season, but it sure can affect the team’s playoff chances. After all, the orange and black went to work this evening three games out of first place 3-1/2 behind the division leading Diamondbacks.
In any case Stripling’s performance this evening was less than good but not horrid. He threw 65 pitches, 43 for strikes, over 3-2/3 innings two runs, both earned, on four hits, one of them a four bagger, striking out three and not issuing a walk.
He didn’t figure in the decision but lowered his ERA to 6.37. There had been no announcement of a bullpen game that I had been aware of, but it sure felt like one when Scott Alexander relieved him with no one on base in the top of the fourth.
On the other hand, Stripling was only 12 days off the IL. Beck allowed a single before closing the inning and struck out Harold Castro to open the fifth before giving way to Tristan Beck, who, with the help of a nice running catch at the base of the center field wall, got the two remaining outs.
It took the lowly team from the Mile High City exactly 19 pitches to grab a 2-0 lead. With one out in the initial frame, Kris Bryant coaxed a grounder up the middle into center field for a single, and Ryan McMahon smacked a 93 mph sinker over the National Car Rental sign in left center for his 14th home run and 44th and 45th RBI of the season. It was a ten pitch at bat.
The Rox continued to lead by two runs until Casey Schmitt led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and Brandon Crawford sent a 103.4 fast ball into McCovey Cove to tie the score at two all. Gomber plunked Slater, and Flores moved him to second with a single to left.
Wade laid down a bunt that enabled Gomber to throw Flores out at second, but Slater made it to third. With runners at the corner, JD Davis hit a fly to medium deep center; Slater made an ill-advised attempt to score, and the ensuing 8-2 double play ended the Giants’ rally.
Taylor Rogers assumed mound duties for the home team at the start of the visitors’ seventh. He threw 21 pitches, got two outs, but walked a couple of Blake Street Bombers and yielded to his right handed submarine ball throwing brother Tyler.
Ezequiel Tovar drove the second Rogers’ first pitch deep over the National Car Rental sign, 410 feet deep. The pitch, a slider, was thrown at 71.4 mph. It left Tovar’s bat at 103.9 mph. Rogers eventually took the loss, making him 4-3, 3.30 for the year.
Daniel Bird relieved Gomber in the bottom of the seventh and held the Giants scoreless for the rest of the game, earning his first save.
He had a 5-2 lead to protect. The Rockies’ starter had thrown six full innings and held the Giants to two runs, both earned, and both coming on Brandon Crawford’s homer, which was one of the five hits he surrendered. Gomber notched only one K, but he didn’t walk anyone. Of his 82 pitches, 51 met the criteria for strikes. He W ND and went home with a slate of x-x, 6.40.
Mauricio Llovera kept the Rox off the board in their last two turns at bat.
The encounter for tomorrow, Saturday, is scheduled for a 1:05 start.. The Rockies’ Connor Seabold (1-05, 6.62) will face the Giants, whose starting pitcher is yet to be announced.
