Alex wood continues to play “stopper” for the Giants, firing seven shutout innings and improving his record to 9-1 in games after losses when the Giants beat the Rockies 5-2 in the final game of a four-game set at Oracle Park Sunday afternoon.
Along with Wood’s strong efforts, San Francisco (76-42) saw contributions from Tommy La Stella (3-for-4) and Curt Casali (1-for-3), on the plate; the pair knocked in runs in the fifth inning with three runs. LaMonte Wade Jr‘s seventh inning throw from right field proved important and prevented the equalizer from scoring a goal.
Wood (W, 10-3, 4.14 ERA) spoke about the great pride he wears as a stopper during this season. He has conquered the hill 11 times this season after losing to the Giants, and the team has won all of those outings.
This story will be updated with quotes and material after the game from the Giants Clubhouse in Oracle Park.
Out of the gate very quickly, Wood pulled back the first nine thugs he faced, one after the other. He worked fast as he used to, and the perfect three innings he pulled through took less than half an hour. Colorado’s first hit came in the fourth when Connor Joe led with a single.
At best, Wood thrives by making weak contact with the left side of the infield and mixing his rearfoot slider with right-handed clubs. As of Sunday, his groundball rate was 52.3 percent, the second highest of his career in the Big League and good enough for the third best in the National League. On Sunday afternoon he presented a variety of ways to get out; five outs on the ground, eight in the air, and six strikeouts.
If Kapler had asked anything of Wood, it would have been a deep excursion after the recent heavy use of the Bullpen; the Giants took seven innings of their bullpen on Saturday and four on Friday. Wood responded by firing seven strong frames, allowing six hits, a walk, two earned runs, and six hits.
He started the seventh inning with a strikeout but allowed two singles, including a run-scoring hit to the right of Elias Diaz Put Colorado (52-66) on the board. Charlie Blackmon next was, pinch-hitting the pitcher’s place, and awarded another single to put the Rockies at 3-2 within one run. Kapler saw enough and removed Wood, who was leaving the hill to a thunderous ovation from his home audience.
Right handed Dominic Leone (2-2, 1.74 ERA) is entered automatically results in a single to the right. Diaz, a catcher with not much speed, was waved in, but Wade’s throw from the right was a laser beam to shoot the tieing run on the plate and keep the score at 3-2.
The Giants continued to be crushed by the double-play ball, bouncing in two of them for the first three innings to clear consecutive leadoff singles. On Saturday they meet in three double plays in consecutive frames.
Change came in the fifth when Mike Yastrzemski Single against Rockies Starter Jon Gray (L, 7-9, 3.93 ERA) then stole the second, eliminating the possibility of a double play ground ball. Casali followed up to the center left with a bloop single that seemed too shallow to hit Yastrzemski from second place, but third base coach Ron Wotus took a risk and violently beckoned him in to the Giants with a 1: 0 in the lead.
San Francisco didn’t finish fifth. Alex Dickerson occasionally, which represents an ideal willingness to make sacrifices for Wood. Instead, Gray uncorked a wild pitch that fled to the backstop, putting Casali and Dickerson in second and third place. A few pitches later, Wood – a well-known offensive liability who drove a 0-for-33 stretch this season – was working a walk to load the bases.
La Stella stepped forward and shot a long double that clinked off the top of the stones in right field to get two runs to knock out Gray and score the 3-0 result. It hit the wall so far that the Giants challenged the call, claiming the ball hit the green can, an automatic homer in Oracle Park. After a quick look back, the call came on the field as a double and La Stella’s second hit of the game.
After that, the stones stopped breaking. To Kris Bryant emerged from the bench and after a mistake reached the seventh, Austin Slater also came from the bank to smoke a double off the bricks in the opposite field to expand the lead in San Francisco. A few doughs later with juiced bases, Wilmer Flores edged an RBI single to the left to make it 5-2.
Right Tyler Rogers (3-1, 1.77 ERA) worked their way through a goalless eighth note and Jake McGee (3-2, 2.72 ERA) rallied the save (25) to finish.
Wrap series
Thursday – Rockies 0, Giants 7: San Francisco took the first game of the series against the Rockies behind an outstanding performance Logan Webb (W, 6-3, 2.96 ERA). The young right-handed player threw six innings of scoreless baseballs, allowing three hits, two walks, while hitting eight. Webb also contributed to the plate, rose in the third inning and started a long drive to the deep center. Right off the bat, it looked like Webb was having his first big league homer, but he bounced off the wall for a two-run single run. Wade Jr. was next, hitting a triple homer (15) on right midfield to open the game in the final 7-0. Dickerson and Casali each had RBI doubles.
Friday – Rockies 4, Giants 5: The Giants saw a strong performance from Righty Anthony DeSclafani (W, 11-5, 3.29 ERA) and hit 11 hits to win 5-4. The Giants went 5-2 into the ninth inning, but Colorado closed the gap that allowed McGee to make a two-run homer. Zack Littell stepped in at the age of two and slammed the door quickly, notching her nails securely. The Giants scored four in the first inning thanks to a three-time homer from Wilmer Flores (15) and Thairo EstradaRun-scoring single. Slater scored three hits.
Saturday – Rockies 4, Giants 1: Gabe Kapler’s offense was discontinued in the third game in the series against Rockies left-handers Kyle Freeland (W, 4-6, 4.40 ERA). Apart from Donovan SolanoIn RBI’s third RBI single, the Giants couldn’t achieve much against Freeland. On the pitching side, the Giants gave the ball to youngsters Sammy Long (1-1, 5.72 ERA) instead of the injured person Johnny Cueto (7-6, 3.89 ERA). Long turned in two innings of the one-run ball and then handed it over to Littell, who went through three dominant innings in which he only allowed one walk. The loss also marked the return of the seasoned third baseman Evan Longoria from the casualty list, who ended the night 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Next
The Giants begin a three-game series against the New York Mets on Monday. The two National League contenders are competing for the first time this season and for the first time since July 2019. Kevin Gausmann (11-5, 2.29 ERA) starts for San Francisco against Mets ’41 -year-old southpaw Rich Hill (6-4, 4.05 AGE). First pitch is 6:45 p.m.
Remarks
Before the game on Sunday afternoon, Johnny Cueto (right flexor) played catch up to 18 meters. Kapler said the session went “well” and Cueto is likely to miss a start or two. … Jay Jackson was taken back from the injured list and feels better after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. As a result, Long became optional for Triple-A Sacramento, where the Giants hope he can work on field efficiency, among other things. … new outfielder Luis González was recalled and immediately placed on the 60-day casualty list. Gonzalez had an operation on his right shoulder to repair a torn labrum.
