SAN FRANCISCO — During a break in action last Sunday, Giants manager Gabe Kapler and some of his coaches questioned why the team had struggled so hard to close a series, especially on the day of the getaway.
Against the Colorado Rockies, such problems do not exist. No problem exists, really.
For a second straight day, the Giants rallied late for a win over the last-placed Rockies. The 6-4 victory was their 11th in a row against the Rockies, including eight in a row at Coors Field.
The Giants trailed 4-1 after five, but Michael Conforto recovered two runs with a right-hand homer. It stayed that way until the ninth, when former Giants reliever Pierce Johnson walked Blake Sabol and Mike Yastrzemski, then gave up an RBI brace to Brandon Crawford.
LaMonte Wade Jr.’s sacrificial fly gave the Giants a lead and Joc Pederson added an insurance run with an RBI single. Camilo Doval closed it for his 16th save, as the Giants landed their second sweep of the year. They had been 1-4 in potentially decisive matches.
The drought is over
The Giants didn’t homer in the first two games, which is the same as not playing a full week in a normal stadium. It was the first time since July 2018 that the Giants had gone back-to-back games at Coors without a hit. They didn’t wait long to get one on Thursday.
Thairo Estrada hit a long solo shot in the first, putting the Giants on the board first. The outburst was his first since leaving IL and his seventh this season.
The 12th from Conforto extended his team lead and reduced the gap to one. After hitting four home runs and posting a .597 OPS in his first 31 games as a Giant, Conforto has eight homers and an OPS over 1,000 in his last 22 games.
ran away
Alex Cobb allowed three straight singles to start the game and allowed five hits in the inning, while walking one and batting one. With the bases loaded and four runs already, he had Charlie Blackmon fly to center to finally end the inning. From there, everything went well.
Cobb went through five innings, allowing only those four runs while striking out seven. The last inning was just as hairy as the first, but for a different reason. Cobb appeared to injure his hip throwing a pitch, but was adamant that he stayed inside when Kapler and Dave Groeschner came out to check on him. He got through the fifth but didn’t look completely comfortable against his last three batters.
The Giants need the problem to be temporary. They’re already without Alex Wood and Ross Stripling, and this weekend’s rotation includes two “TBA” designations after Anthony DeSclafani started Friday night against the Cubs.
Cooking at home
Taylor Rogers had a few sharp outings in his first series against his hometown team since signing with the Giants. Rogers struck out a pair in the sixth inning Thursday.
RELATED: Stubborn Slater Proves to Be One of MLB’s Best Pinch Hitters
The newcomer could have the stat of the year for the Giants. Rogers has allowed seven earned runs in his first five appearances, but since throwing his glove in a trash can on April 12, he has allowed just one earned run in 20 appearances. Rogers has 26 strikeouts in his last 18 innings.
Download and follow the Giants Talk podcast