What we learned as Chapman’s bat powers Giants’ Rockies sweep originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Casey Schmitt homered, Matt Chapman had two hits and two RBIs, and six Giants pitchers combined for a solid afternoon on the mound during Sunday’s 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Chapman reached base four times behind three singles and a walk. Jorge Soler also had three hits while Michael Conforto and rookie Derek Hill added two hits each.
It’s the first four-game sweep in San Francisco since 2022 and the first at Oracle Park since 2021.
The win was the 1,570th of Bob Melvin’s managerial career, putting him in a tie with Hall of Famer Dick Williams for 24th all the time.
Schmitt got the Giants started early with his third home run of the season, a towering solo shot into the stands in the first inning that had an exit velocity of 107.9 mph and was estimated at 422 feet.
San Francisco went ahead with three consecutive two-out extra-base hits. Michael Conforto doubled and scored on Derek Hill’s first triple since 2021. Jorge Soler followed with a double that put the Giants ahead 3-0.
Colorado scored its first run off Randy Rodriguez (3-1) in the fourth inning and then got to Jordan Hicks for another run in the seventh. Hicks, the longtime backup who was signed as a free agent to join San Francisco’s starting rotation, was expected to start Sunday, but it was scratched late in order to strengthen the Giants’ bullpen, which was heavily overstretched following Saturday’s doubleheader.
The Rockies loaded the bases with two outs against Spencer Bivens in the eighth before the right-hander got Brendan Rodgers to strike out on a fielder’s choice groundout.
Camilo Doval allowed a run in the ninth and the Rockies tied for second before the Giants’ closer struck out Sam Hilliard and got Ezequiel Tovar to hit his 20th to save.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s game:
It’s Miller Time
When the decision was made to move Jordan Hicks to the bullpen earlier than originally planned, the Giants turned to Erik Miller to start the series finale against the Rockies.
Relying almost exclusively on his four-seam fastball that topped out at 97.7 mph, Miller nailed Colorado in the first inning when he needed just 11 pitches to sail across the board, retiring Ezequiel Tovar on a flyout before coming back for – return hits from Charlie Blackmon and Brenton Doyle.
It was 10th game Miller worked as an opener during the 2024 season. He allowed one run in 10 2/3 innings in that span for a stingy 0.84 ERA.
The Giants are now 6-4 this season in games with Miller as the starter.
Comfort Leaving Funk
Conforto, who began the day in one of the worst at-bats of his career with two hits in his previous 28 at-bats, showed definite signs of snapping out of that slump as he batted near the bottom of San Francisco’s lineup.
Batting just .125 since July 9, Conforto gave the Giants offense a boost with a double in the second, a single in the fourth and a walk in the seventh.
Conforto’s ability to get on base is setting the table for the top of the batting order, which has been producing strong performances over the past week.
Exit time
The Giants hit repeatedly, generating four of their runs on two-out hits.
Both of San Francisco’s runs in the second came after the first two batters of the inning struck out. Then in the sixth, the Giants added to the lead on Chapman’s single.
That’s an encouraging sign for a team that was in the middle of the pack when it came to dual production. The Giants entered on the 18thth in the majors with 162 RBI doubles, according to the team’s media relations staff.
