Giants 2, Rockies 1 (F/10): Heartbreak in the bay

On a night of great defense, one error doomed the Rockies

There was so much good in this game. Antonio Senzatela’s slider was freezing Giants or making them whiff, the defense made spectacular plays, and Charlie Blackmon hit two hits to get to 1,500 in his career.

But it’s the Giants who got the victory and the Rockies who suffered the heartbreaking loss when Luis González hit a single to right with one out in the 10th inning to score Donovan Walton. Walton initially paused at third base, but Blackmon misplayed the ball, overrunning it when he failed to scoop it up on the run, and Walton came around to score.

Senza back to sensational

Going into Wednesday night, Senzatela had 14 strikeouts in 35 innings. On Wednesday, he struck out six Giants in seven innings. His slider got Joc Pederson looking twice. His fastball was also coming in at 96-97 mph to balance it out. Despite giving up one hit in each of the first innings, none of them came back to hurt Senzatela. Two hits in the fourth did when Darin Ruf hit a one-out double and Thairo Estrada hit an RBI single to score him. Senzatela continued to battle and then saved the best for the last. In the sixth inning, he struck out Pederson, Ruf, and Tommy La Stella to end his night with six solid innings, giving up only one run on six hits with one walk. Here is a lovely strikeout montage for your viewing pleasure.

Keeping it Nazty

After hitting the 200th homer of his career on Tuesday night, Blackmon notched another milestone on Wednesday when he recorded his 1,500 hit. The 1,499th hit came in the third inning after Elias Díaz and Connor Joe hit back-to-back, two-out singles. He punched a grounder to where pre-shift shortstops used to play to plate Díaz. In the sixth, he doubled down the left field line for hit No. 1,500. That’s two keepsake balls in two days for Chuck. Blackmon is making his mark on the franchise leaderboards. His 200 homers are seventh in team history (one behind Dante Bichette’s 201) and he’s second in hits at 1,500 behind only Todd Helton. In other exciting numbers, Joe also had two hits, extending his on-base streak to 34 games.

Great D until it wasn’t

With the game tied 1-1, one out, and runners at the corners, San Francisco’s Wilmer Flores came to the plate. When he lined a shot to right field, Blackmon lined up perfectly, caught the ball, and rapidly fired it to Elias Díaz on one hop. Díaz, blocking the plate, caught it, tagged Luis González, and then held onto the ball when González barreled over him. It was a double play that help the lead and was just excellent.

In the first inning, González fell victim to more outstanding Rockies’ defense. He lined a shot to the left but Ryan McMahon leaped up and grabbed it out of the air.

Things went south in the ninth, leading to a Giants walk-off.

Steady bullpen again (mostly)

For the second straight night, Alex Colomé, Tyler Kinley, and Daniel Bard shutout the Giants in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. Colomé only needed four pitches. Kinley got in a jam after walking González. Despite striking out Mike Yastrzemski, González ended up at third after stealing second and getting to third on a wild pitch. That’s when Kinley struck out Pederson, who got the golden sombrero with three strikeouts. Bard gave up one walk, but no damage. Things were going well until Estévez came in, but this loss can’t be pinned on him.

Up next

The Rockies will conclude their three-game series against the Giants with a day game on Thursday at 1:45 p.m. MDT. Colorado’s Austin Gomber (2-6, 6.54 ERA) will face off against San Francisco’s Logan Webb (5-1, 3.82 ERA).