There was a tense, big-time playoff hockey game taking place across town Tuesday night, but an avalanche broke out at Coors Field.
The Giants and Rockies combined for 17 runs on 26 hits, including 10 for extra bases, eight by the Giants and two by the Rockies. In the end, the Rockies were buried and left singing the blues — again.
The Giants’ 10-7 victory was their 12th straight over the Rockies, a stretch that includes an eight-game winning streak at Coors Field. Over those 12 games, San Francisco has outscored Colorado 95-41.
The last time the Giants beat a single opponent 12 times in a row they were the New York Giants. That club won 12 straight against Philadelphia from July 28, 1945 to April 22, 1946.
Colorado had a last gasp in the ninth against San Francisco right-hander Camilo Doval, who issued two-out walks to Yonathan Daza and Charlie Blackmon before getting C.J. Cron to pop out to shallow center. Austin Slater sprinted in to make a terrific sliding catch to close out the game.
The Rockies have lost nine of their last 11 games and fell to 1-4 on their current homestand. They are now 17-19 and in last place in the National League West.
Manager Bud Black, however, said he is not concerned about the mood of his team.
“It’s fine,” he said. “You saw it tonight, how we came back from 10-2 and got the tying run to the plate. I think that sort of answers all of your questions about the guys.
“But we have to pitch better. That’s what it takes. Early in the year, our bullpen was really good and we got some good starts from a number of guys. But as a group … we have to pitch better.”
Right-hander Chad Kuhl, who began the season so hot, got roughed up for the second consecutive game by the Giants. They beat him last Wednesday at San Franciso’s Oracle Park, scoring five runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Tuesday, Kuhl departed after just three innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits, including a homer. Kuhl’s ERA was 1.82 before the Giants got a hold of him. He posted an 11.74 ERA in his two starts vs. the Giants, making his ERA rise to 3.86.
“I got some pretty good results with (Brandon) Crawford and (Brandon) Belt, and those guys were hitting groundballs,” Kuhl said. “Overall, the box score is ugly but I don’t think it was anything crazy. Balls were just landing (for hits) and they were hitting good pitches. It just kind of didn’t go my way.”
Black said that the Giants “laid off some pitches and really made (Kuhl) work.”
“The fastball maybe wasn’t as commanded as maybe we have seen it in previous starts,” Black continued. “But that happens. If you make 33 starts, you aren’t going to be spotting the ball every single night.”
The Rockies trailed 10-2 in the middle of the sixth, but they surged back into the game with a five-run sixth inning off Giants righty Alex Cobb. They sent 10 men to the plate and six of them got hits, including back-to-back RBI singles by Cron and Ryan McMahon.
That should have been a sign to San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler that Cobb was done, but Kapler stuck with him for one more batter. Big mistake. Randal Grichuk blasted a three-run homer, cutting the lead to 10-7. Cobb, making his first start at Coors since May 5, 2013, with Tampa Bay, looked a bit shellshocked when he left the mound.
The Giants’ bullpen, however, took care of business in the final three innings to clinch the victory.
Kuhl’s evening began with leadoff hitter Tommy La Stella rocketing a 1-0 sinker into the second deck above right field. Stella’s first home run of the season traveled 464 feet.
The Giants continued to pile on. Crawford led off the second with a leadoff triple and scored on second baseman Brendan Rodgers’ throwing error to make it 2-0.
The Giants’ four-run second began with a fielding error by Rodgers and included a two-run double by Mike Yastrzemski and RBI singles by Darin Ruf and Thairo Estrada.
The two clubs play their final game of the three-game series Wednesday afternoon at Coors Field. And it doesn’t get any easier for Colorado on the current homestand. After a day off Thursday, Colorado hosts the Mets for three games. The Mets, 24-14 overall, have a 13-6 record on the road.
Late-Night Notes
* The Rockies’ 12 straight losses to San Franciso are tied for the second-longest losing streak against a single team in franchise history. The Rockies also lost 12 consecutive games to the Dodgers from Sept. 9, 2018, to June 27, 2019. Colorado lost a franchise-record 16 consecutive games to Atlanta from 1993-94.
* The Rockies have lost eight in a row to the Giants at Coors Field, having been outscored 66-31 over that span.
* Colorado outfielder Yonathan Daza extended his hitting streak to a career-long 10 games, during which he’s hitting .405 (15-for-37).
* Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron went 3-for-5 and leads the majors with 15 multi-hit games. Eleven of his multi-hit games have come at Coors Field, where he is slashing .398/.446/.723 with six doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBIs in 21 games.
* Giants designated hitter Tommy La Stella recorded three extra-base hits — two doubles, one home run — to match his career-high.
* Stella’s leadoff homer traveled 464 feet, the longest home run of his career.