What we learned as Webb works, Giants offense goes quiet in Rockies loss originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Giants appeared to be on track to open the second half of the MLB season with a victory over the lowly Colorado Rockies on Friday before a bullpen implosion resulted in an upset loss. 7-3 defeat at Coors Field.
San Francisco came out of the All-Star break with the league’s easiest remaining strength of schedule, according to Fangraps, and needed to handle business against the division’s last-place team to avoid falling further into the wild-card standings.
Giants ace Logan Webb (L, 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 99 pitches) hit the rubber against Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland (W, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 4 K, 89 pitches) four days later a forgettable display in his first career All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for the Giants, Webb was unable to recover from his performance in the Midsummer Classic and the offense was unable to catch him.
Here are three takeaways from the Giants (47-52) 4-3 loss to the Rockies (36-63):
Something about these entries…
Webb is the first to admit that sometimes his outings don’t get off to the best start.
“My first inning is usually my worst,” Webb told reporters on Tuesday after his dismal performance in the All-Star Game.
That was the case again Saturday against the Rockies.
Webb issued a hit and two walks to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first. He induced a groundball double play that scored one run before a second run scored on an infield hit to first base.
In 20 starts before Friday’s matchup, Webb had a 4.95 ERA in the first innings this season, his second-worst mark in an inning behind his 5.29 ERA in the fifth inning this season.
Speaking of the fifth inning…
Webb settled in after the first, pitching three scoreless frames before getting into trouble again in, you guessed it, the fifth inning. Webb surrendered a leadoff single to Sam Hilliard before Ezequiel Tovar demolished a two-run home run to give Colorado a 4-2 lead.
FitzMagic
If you’re the Giants, you expect your well-rested offense to come out of the gate firing in the second half against a bad Rockies team in a stadium where their hitters have historically thrived.
That wasn’t the case. San Francisco scored just three runs on Friday and struggled to get the bats working again on Saturday.
Fortunately for the Giants, Tyler Fitzgerald came to play.
Trailing 2-0 in the third, Fitzgerald launched a solo home run to left field to put the Giants on the board. The rookie returned to base in the top of the fifth and struck out Mike Yastrzemski from third to tie the game with two outs.
Had to have this
The Giants were able to generate some momentum before the All-Star break. They were three games below .500 and a few behind the final Wild Card spot, but were optimistic about their trajectory. Blake Snell was pitching well, the lineup was at full strength, and the rotation would soon receive a boost in the form of rehabbing veterans Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb.
However, in two short games that momentum died.
A series loss to the third-worst team in baseball is a disheartening way to start the second half of the season and raises even more questions about the team’s direction just 10 days before the July 30 trade deadline.
This was not a bullpen game in which a strong lineup struggled to generate offense. The Giants had their ace on the line. This was a series they needed to win.
