SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants spent most of April surging toward the top of the National League West with elite pitching, clean defense and plenty of pinch-hit magic.
In a sloppy showing against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, closer Jake McGee gave up a go-ahead home run to a pinch-hitter, rookie Gregory Santos surrendered two more 10th-inning homers, and a series of early, uncharacteristic mistakes ultimately cost the club a chance to secure a series victory.
Garrett Hampson, Ryan McMahon and C.J. Cron all went deep in the late innings for the Rockies, who needed only seven hits to send the Giants to a 7-5, 10-inning loss on Tuesday at Oracle Park.
After Brandon Crawford answered Hampson’s pinch-hit blast with his third career splash hit to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, the Giants had an opportunity to salvage an ugly game with a potential walk-off against Colorado closer Daniel Bard. Following an Evan Longoria walk and a Bard fielding error on a light tapper to the mound from Tommy La Stella, Brandon Belt was unable to deliver the clutch two-out hit that would have sent the Giants home with a win.
McGee didn’t allow a run in his first eight appearances this season, but has now given up six in his last five outings.
With his high-90s fastball and low-90s slider, Santos appeared ready for the major league stage during his debut last week but struggled in Saturday’s loss to the Marlins and gave up back-to-back home runs to McMahon and Cron in a troublesome 10th inning on Tuesday.
The Giants pounded out 10 hits, but Gabe Kapler’s pitching staff hurt its own cause by issuing six early walks against a Colorado lineup that’s typically a free-swinging bunch.
Starter Aaron Sanchez gave up only one hit in 4 2/3 innings, but the first-inning double Charlie Blackmon drilled into the left center field gap was costly because it followed a pair of two-out walks. Sanchez wound up walking three more Rockies hitters on Tuesday and was unable to complete five innings, but after putting the Giants in an early 2-0 hole, he was able to pitch around his mistakes.
Left fielder Alex Dickerson cut the Giants’ deficit in half in the bottom of the inning against Rockies starter Chi Chi González as his RBI groundout brought a run home after Buster Posey doubled into the right field corner. The 2-1 score held until the fourth, when third baseman Jason Vosler blooped a two-strike, two-out double into shallow right field to bring home Crawford from second.
The Giants squandered a chance to add another run on Vosler’s RBI double when Mauricio Dubón came sprinting around third base in an effort to score from first.
As Cron caught a relay throw up the first base line, Giants third base coach Ron Wotus threw up a late stop sign to Dubón, who never appeared to make eye contact with Wotus after rounding the bag. Dubón ran directly into Wotus in foul territory, resulting in an immediate inning-ending out on the type of miscue that’s become all too common for Dubón as a baserunner.
With two outs and Sanchez, the pitcher, due up, an aggressive send from Wotus may have been the right call, but he and Dubón never got on the same page and it ended up costing the Giants.
After Brandon Belt’s fifth-inning home run, the Giants also had a chance to prevent the Rockies from tying the game, but a rare mistake in the field from Crawford allowed Colorado to pull even against reliever José Álvarez. With one out and catcher Dom Núñez at the plate, Crawford fielded a routine grounder up the middle, stepped on second base for a force out and proceeded to overthrow Belt at first. The errant throw allowed a run to score from third and ruined Álvarez’s chance to escape a difficult situation with an inning-ending double play.
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