The Giants are not having a great day. Not only did they lose their best pitcher -- arguably one of the best pitchers in the league -- to injury, but they blew a three-run lead after allowing a grand slam and two-run inside-the-park home run in the fourth inning of Friday’s 6-5 loss.
Giants’ right-hander Johnny Cueto sailed through the first three innings, keeping the game scoreless after issuing one walk, one hit and one strikeout. The fourth inning was a different beast altogether. Carlos Gonzalez, Mark Reynolds and Gerrardo Parra collected back-to-back-to-back base hits, setting Trevor Story up for his first career grand slam:
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Cueto couldn’t control the ball after Story’s home run, either, allowing a base hit to Tony Wolters and a sac bunt to Tyler Chatwood. Charlie Blackmon skied a fly ball straight to Hunter Pence, who slipped on the play and gave the Giants a mild scare when it looked like he’d been hurt on the fall. Meanwhile, Blackmon tore around the bases, bringing Wolters in to score and slipping just under Buster Posey’s glove for the sixth and final run of the inning.
👀 @Chuck_Nazty inside-the-park home run! https://t.co/TVEP7pFmoh
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 22, 2017
The Giants tried to rally, tacking on an extra two runs with Brandon Belt’s solo shot in the fifth inning and an RBI single from Joe Panik in the sixth, but couldn’t muster up the two runs needed to take the series opener. The Rockies improved to 11-6 with the win, good for first place in the NL West.