The San Francisco Giants catcher Curt Casali (2) and starting pitcher Alex Wood (57) are grateful after a double play that got them out of the top of the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park in San Francisco (AP News photo)
Colorado. 2. 10. 1
San Francisco. 9. 12. 1
Tuesday May 10, 2022
By Lewis Rubman
SAN FRANCISCO–The orange and black went into this evening’s confrontation with the Colorado Rockies (16-14) with a won-lost record of 17-12, good for third place in the NL West. This is a mathematical demonstration that all the teams in that division are, like students in Lake Woebegone, above average.
There was some good news in the San Francisco Giants’ (18-12) camp before game time. Evan Longrorria announced that he was ready to play at the big league level.
For tonight, at least, he remained on the injured list. Brandon Belt, however, was back in the lineup. There is no silver lining without a cloud, and Wilmer Flores was a last minute scratch after reporting muscular tightness.
Left hander Alex Wood, bringing a lackluster 2-2ERA 4.38 record with him, threw the opening pitch for the home team. The 31 year old veteran of eight big league seasons brought his repertoire of four seamers, changeups, curves, and sinkers with him. In his post game press conference Giants manager Gabe Kapler said that Wood was good enough to go through the Rockies line up three times.
He lasted 5-1/3 innings before giving way to Zack Littell with runners on first and third and the Giants leading, 8-1. Littell surrendered a single to the first batter he faced, but the runners only moved up a base apiece.
LIttell then struck out Garrett Hampson and Hilliard, leaving Wood charged with just one run, and that one unearned. He had given up seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts. His pitch count reached 104, with 67 counted as strikes.
Facing the Giants for the Rockies was Antonio Senzatela, a righty who had gone 1-2 ERA 3.65 for the season. The strongest of his five outings came on April 29, when he held the Reds to one run, which was earned, on seven hits and a walk over 6-1/3 innings.
He relies mainly on his fastball and slider, with an occasional curve thrown in to keep batters on their toes. For all that, he is not an overpowering hurler.
San Francisco took an early lead, plating three tallies on a lead off walk to Joc Pederson, a single by Thairo Estrada up the middle that shortstop José Iglesias almost stoped but instead nudged into center field for a single, and a walk to Brandon Crawford that loaded the bases.
After Mauricio Dubón fouled out to first, Luis González moved everyone up a base with a single to the mound that brought in Pederson with the icebreaker. Curt Casali’s single to right drove in Estrada, and Crawford crossed the plate on Blackmon’s error in handling Casali’s hit.
The frame ended when Wade lined what looked like a single to right, but Blackmon threw the slow moving Casali out at second.
The Rox retaliated in the top of the fourth. Ryan McMahon hit two out broken bat single to left and reached third on Yonathan Daza’s double to left. The ball got away from González, which allowed McMahon to score the unearned run that put Colorado on the board, reducing San Francisco’s advantage to 3-1.
The Giants got that run back in their next turn at bat. González singled to center with one down, went to third on Casali’s base hit to right, land scored when Wade forced Casali out, 6-4. They stretched their lead to 5-1 on Belt’s double off the AAA sign in right center.
That brought Casali home and put an end to Senzatela’s labors. Lucas Gilbraith took over, threw one pitch to Yastremski, who grounded out to short, ending the inning.
Belt’s RBI two bagger came as no surprise. Before the game, he faced Senzatela on 22 occasions, hitting .450 against him with anOPS of .700.
Senzatela lasted a brief 3-1/3 innings, in which he surrendered five runs, all earned, on seven hits and two walks. He threw 86 pitches in his short tenure, 56 for strikes.
The Giants just kept rolling along when they next came to bat. Ruf pinch hit for Pederson and got hit, Estrada forced him out at second. Crawford doubled to left center, and Dubón dropped a Texas League single to right.
Slater pinch hit for González and walked the bases full. Casali’s walk forced Crawford in and left the sacks still FOG, Full of Giants. It also ended Gilbreath’s ill fated cameo appearance, with Ty Blach replacing him on the mound and the Giants ahead, 8-1.
Jarlín García put the Rockies down in order in the seventh and eighth.
Jhoulys Chacín almost did the same to the Giants in the eighth but gave up back to back two out doubles to Ruf and Estrada, adding an insurance run and padding the San Francisco lead, which now stood at 9-1.
In the relatively safe environment of an eight run lead in the top of the nine, Jake McGee got the chance to break the recent descent of his effectiveness. He wasn’t impressive–yielding a lead off triple to deep center field to McMahon.
He scored on Hilliard’s sacrifice fly, which was the second out of the final frame. But he held the Rockies to that single tally.
The win went to Wood, who now is 2-2 ERA 3.60. Senzatela took the lost. HIs record now is 2-2 ERA 4.88).
The series will wind up tomorrow, starting at 1:45, with Chad Kuhl (3-0 ERA1.82) going for Colorado and Alex Cobb (1-1ERA 4.80) for San Francisco.
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