Denver Deuces Wild

Jun 7, 2023 | 2023 Season, Latest Post

by
Greek Giant

In their 10-4 (good buddy) win over the Rockies in Denver last night the Giants hit eight doubles. The Rockies had four of their own. It was perhaps the first time in Mile High Park history that fourteen runs were scored and nary a home run was hit. It’s kind of hard to believe really. The Giants hammered the ball all night and peppered the outfield walls from center to left to right so much that the stadium may need an earthquake retrofit, Denver is not known for earthquakes!

It was a fantastic night for the Giants hitters who were visiting the Rockies at a very late point in the season, in fact, not since 1998 have the Giants waited until the first week of June to smell Rocky Mountain air. It turned out to be a good night too for the bullpen that pitched the game, despite a mild hiccup by Sean Manaea, who actually pitched better than his four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings suggest.

The Giant Runs

But let’s get back to all those wonderful Giants runs, 10 of them in total!

The Giants began the scoring in the top of the second with two runs, one scoring on a two-out double by Brandon Crawford to right and the other on a two-out single up the middle by Thairo Estrada who was returning to action after a brief stint on the IL. In the top of the third inning Patrick Bailey tripled in a run to make it 3-zip Giants.

In the fourth inning the Rockies scored a lone run on a close play at the plate when Jones hit a grounder down the third base line that J. D. Davis fielded cleanly and deftly. Davis made the decision, with one out, to fire home to Bailey to throw out Randall Grichuk, who runs well. The throw was there in time but Bailey’s tag was a fraction of a second too late because Davis’s throw was too far up the first base side of home. That extra reach by the Giants catcher to field the throw meant the difference in recording the out at the plate or letting a Rockies run score. It was that close. No biggie, however, That would be the only run Colorado would score in the inning. It came with Sean Manaea on the mound firing bullets, usually over 95 MPH and up in the zone.

In the top of the fifth the Giants hitting attack answered with three more runs. Wade Jr, Davis and Conforto would drive them home on a single, double and single respectively. Again, the Giants are scoring big numbers all without the benefit of the long ball. It was impressive and made the score 8-1. The Rox would add three runs before the Giants added two more and the game ended triumphantly for San Francisco.

Ryan Walker earned his second win of the season pitching the second inning flawlessly.

Leading the Giants offense was Davis with three runs batted in, Patrick Bailey with three hits and an RBI, Wade with three hits and two RBIs and Estrada with three hits and one run driven in.

Estrada Returns

Thairo Estrada is now batting .308 while Casey Schmitt did not play since Estrada returned to action and Davis was at third with Crawford playing short. With Estrada back healthy Gabe Kapler will have some interesting decisions to make regarding Schmitt’s playing time. Will it come at the expense of Crawford? Will J. D. Davis get platooned more? (No Way!)

The Rockies starter, Dinelson Lamet, would pitch three innings and allow three runs. His successor, Peter Lambert, pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed three runs too.

It was the Giants night!

For simplicity’s sake I am going to post the highlights in one long succession.

Tonight’s Game

Game two of the series pits Webb against Seabold. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM in Denver.

All Star Voting

All Star voting has begun. Vote Giants!