SAN FRANCISCO -- Over the weekend, the Rockies and Atlanta Braves played a game at Coors Field that was scoreless on both sides heading into extra innings. It was just the second time in Coors Field's history that that happened, but a few days later the Giants and Rockies came pretty close at the much more pitcher-friendly Oracle Park.
The teams were tied at 1-1 heading into the 10th but Luis Gonzalez sent the Giants home with a win, lining a single to right that got under Charlie Blackmon's glove, allowing Donovan Walton to race home for a 2-1 win that evened the series. It was a strange play, but probably one that was needed on a quiet offensive night.
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Alex Wood had his best start of the year but the lineup couldn't do much against Antonio Senzatela. After the Giants tied it up in the bottom of the fourth, neither team scored again until extras.
The Rockies got their free baserunner in the 10th and it looked like Ryan McMahon had given them the lead, but Joc Pederson made one of his nicer defensive plays as a Giant, chasing down a liner to deep left that would have been an RBI double.
Walton was placed on second in the 10th and Gonzalez singled to right with one out. Walton was held at third initially, but Blackmon couldn't scoop the ball cleanly and it got under his glove as Walton turned it back on and headed home for the win.
San Francisco Giants
Good Wood
Wood has wanted the chance to get deeper in games and he made that known after being pulled in the sixth inning last week in Miami. On Wednesday, he was efficient and dominant at times while getting stretched out to 101 pitches over seven innings.
Wood scattered five hits and allowed just one earned while striking out five. The lone run came when the Rockies strung together three straight seeing-eye singles.
Wood completed seven innings for the first time since last July 7. Prior to this start, he had not completed six this year. It's been an up-and-down season for Wood, but he has now allowed just three earned in 12 1/3 innings in June, with 10 strikeouts to two walks.
Back to 2020
Mike Yastrzemski finished eighth in the MVP balloting in 2020, but he could never consistently find that form last season. Yastrzemski got hit on the wrist at the end of camp and was playing catchup the entire season, but he's back to that 2020 form through two months in 2022.
Yastrzemski went double, single, single in his first three at-bats, picking up his second three-hit game of the season. Both have come against the Rockies, a team Yastrzemski has destroyed throughout his career. The big game raised his OPB to .395, just off the .400 he posted two years ago.
Oh, he also did this:
You can see why he leads Giants position players with 1.4 Wins Above Replacement.
Welcome Back
Darin Ruf's father passed away unexpectedly last week and he went on the bereavement list after flying back home to be with his family. Ruf returned to the Giants on Tuesday, but manager Gabe Kapler hoped to give him a couple of days to get back in a rhythm since he didn't do much baseball-related work while gone. That didn't end up being possible.
Kapler needed to use Ruf in the ninth Tuesday, and a day later he was back in the starting lineup. He made an immediate impact. Ruf's hard double to left in the fourth inning kickstarted a rally and Thairo Estrada brought him home with a single to left. That tied the game, and it stayed that way for a while.