Logan Webb (5-5, 3.66 ERA) got the ball for San Francisco looking to build on a dominant last outing against Atlanta, while Ryan Feltner (2-2, 4.26 ERA) started for Colorado coming off a clean if unspectacular 6 innings against Minnesota. On paper this looked like a pitching mismatch in the Giants' favor. On the field it turned into anything but.
The Rockies have been the league's punching bag most of the season at 35-53, but they've quietly caught fire, winning 2 straight and 3 of their last 5 before this one, and their lineup has been swinging it. Mickey Moniak and Jake McCarthy have been the engine of that surge, and Coors Field did what Coors Field does once Colorado's bats got rolling. San Francisco, meanwhile, arrived banged up and unsteady, having dropped 6 of their last 7 with Matt Chapman freshly on the IL.
None of that fully explains what happened next. A tight, low-scoring game through 4 innings turned into a laugher the moment Colorado's offense broke through, and Webb never found the answer.
The Rockies put up 3 in the 1st, tacked on 2 more in each of the 2nd and 3rd, then blew it wide open with a 7-run 5th inning that buried San Francisco for good. Eighteen hits, 15 runs, and a laugher at altitude — the kind of afternoon that's been rare for Colorado this year but has shown up twice in the last 3 days after Tuesday's 14-4 win over Miami. For a team that lost 119 games a year ago, back-to-back offensive explosions like this are as good a sign as any that something's clicking in that lineup, even if the win-loss record still says otherwise.
- 10-Day-ILMatt Chapman 3B — Chapman was diagnosed with an abdominal muscle strain following his removal from Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILHarrison Bader CF — Bader (foot) will start his hitting and throwing progressions later this week, Evan Webeck of the California Post reports.
- 10-Day-ILDaniel Susac C — The Giants placed Susac on the 10-day injured list Friday with a lower-back strain, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
- 15-Day-ILKeaton Winn RP — Winn (elbow) completed a 25-pitch bullpen Monday, Evan Webeck of the California Post reports.
- 60-Day-ILJoel Peguero RP — Peguero (hamstring) threw 30 pitches during a bullpen session Monday, Evan Webeck of the California Post reports.
- 60-Day-ILJason Foley RP — Foley (shoulder) struck out two over a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.
- 60-Day-ILRowan Wick RP — The Giants placed Wick (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILHayden Birdsong RP — Birdsong underwent successful UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILBrenton Doyle CF — Doyle (oblique/groin) is expected to resume his rehab assignment at Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILBlas Castano RP — Castano (pectoral) is expected to begin a throwing program next week, MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJaden Hill RP — Hill (shoulder) resumed playing catch Wednesday, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILChase Dollander SP — Dollander underwent an internal brace procedure on his right elbow Monday, Kevin Henry of The Denver Gazette reports.
- 60-Day-ILWelinton Herrera RP — Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer announced Monday that Herrera (elbow) has been diagnosed with a torn UCL and will miss the remainder of the season, Jack Janes of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILMcCade Brown SP — Brown (shoulder) had been scheduled to throw a live bullpen session this weekend, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILJose Quintana SP — The Rockies placed Quintana on the 15-day injured list Monday with a left elbow sprain.
- 60-Day-ILRJ Petit RP — The Rockies transferred Petit (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
For the Giants, this one stings on more than the scoreboard. Chapman is already out with an abdominal strain, Harrison Bader and Daniel Susac are both nursing their own injuries, and now the bullpen — supposedly a strength for most of the first half — has to answer for another game that got away in a hurry. San Francisco is 36-51 with a losing road record, and afternoons like this one at altitude only add to the pile.
Coors Field has a way of making both good and bad pitching look worse, and Friday was a reminder that even a rebuilding, injury-riddled Rockies club can hang a crooked number when the ball starts carrying. San Francisco will look to regroup fast; Colorado will take the momentum and keep swinging.