This one stings.
The Giants led 3-0 after two innings on Thursday but failed to tack on, losing 5-4 to the Rockies in extra innings. With the loss, the Giants dropped back to 28-28 with the Padres coming into town for four games. They'll likely need at least a split to make the postseason. They were swept the last time they played San Diego.
Kevin Gausman handed a lead over, but a Giants bullpen that had the lowest ERA in the majors over the past month hit a speed bump. Sam Coonrod gave up a couple of runs in the seventh, and when the Giants went down easily in the bottom of the inning, it started to look like they might be in trouble.
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But the Rockies, for some reason, don't have a lefty in their bullpen, and Brandon Belt took advantage. He took Mychal Givens deep to left to tie the game while leading off the eighth.
The game went to extras, and Tyler Rogers and Caleb Baragar stranded the runner on second in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the inning, a pair of intentional walks loaded the bases for Evan Longoria and the Rockies went with a five-man infield. Longoria hit a 104 mph grounder, but Trevor Story made a phenomenal play to get the force at the plate, and the Giants failed to score.
The Rockies scored on a sacrifice fly in the 11th, but the Giants put runners on the corners. Austin Slater hit into a double play to end it. Here are three things to know ...
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San Francisco Giants
The Return of Yaz
Mike Yastrzemski came out into the on-deck circle in the seventh, but was pulled back when the Giants got two quick outs. He ended up hitting for Steven Duggar in the bottom of the ninth and flew out to center. It was Yastrzemski's first plate appearance since he strained his calf last Thursday. There's a chance he's available to start one of the doubleheader games Friday against the Padres.
Finishing Flourish
In his final start of the regular season, Gausman succeeded with a bend-but-don't-break approach. He allowed eight hits in six innings and had a runner in scoring position seemingly all afternoon, but his fastball-splitter combo racked up nine strikeouts, most when he needed to halt a rally.
Gausman, signed to a one-year deal in December, has made 11 appearances and has a 3.68 ERA. He has 77 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings. There's a chance Gausman is available for an inning this weekend, but if he's not used, his next appearance could be a Game 1 start in a postseason series.
A Natural
Mauricio Dubon became the everyday center fielder about a month ago, and both the eye test and advanced metrics would tell you he's slightly above average out there, and getting better seemingly every week. Dubon still throws to the wrong base on occasion and gets burned for his aggression, but the athleticism is there, and he made one of his better plays in the fifth to keep Gausman out of a two-out jam.