San Francisco 6, Colorado 3
When: 4:05 PM ET, Sunday, June 28, 2015
Where: AT&T Park, San Francisco, California
Temperature:
69°
Umpires:
Home -
Greg Gibson, 1B -
Chris Segal, 2B -
Marvin Hudson, 3B -
Sam Holbrook
Attendance:
41795
By The Sports Xchange
SAN FRANCISCO -- Not long ago, San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Duffy's claim to fame was the Internet stir created by his unusually fat cat.
Now he can be known as the guy who nearly hit for a cycle in a major league game. On Hello Kitty bobblehead day, no less.
Duffy smacked a double, a triple and a home run Sunday, and had a fourth hit denied by a controversial call, powering the Giants to a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Left-hander Madison Bumgarner pitched 7 2/3 strong innings and helped himself with a home run of his own, as the Giants won their second in a row to take the three-game series after the Rockies captured the opener Friday night.
"Yeah, I guess it's fitting," Duffy sheepishly admitted when informed of the Hello Kitty promotion at AT&T Park on his big offensive day. "I was aware (of the potential cycle). It was close."
Catcher Buster Posey drove in three runs with a pair of singles and shortstop Brandon Crawford also homered for the Giants, who scored 38 runs over the final five games of the homestand after beginning the week averaging just three runs at home, the lowest figure in the majors.
"Very pleased. ... Very encouraging," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the 4-2 homestand. "Guys have really picked it up and figured out how to score some runs at home. We played some great ball against two tough teams (including the San Diego Padres to begin the homestand)."
Bumgarner (8-4) struck out eight, the second of which was the 1,000th of his career, becoming just the 13th Giants pitcher to reach the milestone. He yielded two runs on five hits.
Third baseman Nolan Arenado hit two homers, his 23rd and 24th of the season, to account for all of the Rockies' runs.
After surrendering a game-opening single to Colorado second baseman DJ LeMahieu and Arenado's first homer of the game two batters later, Bumgarner allowed only three more hits before being pulled after giving up a two-out walk to LeMahieu in the eighth. The walk was just San Francisco ace's second of the game.
"Giving up the two runs early, then getting 7 2/3 innings, that's a great start," Posey observed. "You hate to say you come to expect it from him, but it's our expectation, and his, that he go that deep in the game."
Right-hander Sergio Romo retired Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to end the eighth, and he was replaced after surrendering Arenado's second homer of the game to lead off the ninth.
Left-hander Javier Lopez got one out before closer Santiago Casilla induced a game-ending double play for his 21st save.
The two-homer game by Arenado was his second of the series and third of the week. It was the fifth multi-homer game of his career.
"Obviously that first-inning homer meant a lot more than the last-inning homer," he insisted. "That's the way it goes. It's all about winning. I can't be pleased. We lost."
Bumgarner's home run was the second of the season for the 2014 Silver Slugger Award recipient as the best hitting pitcher in the National League. No other pitcher has more than one homer this season.
Duffy tripled and scored in the first, doubled and scored in the third and belted his eighth homer of the season, a solo shot, in the sixth.
He got one shot at a cycle in the seventh inning, and he hit a liner over first base that deflected off the glove of Rockies first baseman Wilin Rosario. However, the ball was ruled foul by first-base umpire Chris Segal, and the ruling survived a video review.
"I thought the ball was fair," Bochy insisted.
Had it been fair, Duffy would have needed to stop at first base to complete the cycle. He admitted the thought did cross his mind momentarily.
"Yeah, a little bit, but I think I would have gone to second base," he disclosed. "Just play the game."
Duffy then grounded into a double play on the next pitch.
Crawford's homer also came in the sixth inning, when the Giants increased a one-run lead to 5-2 and ended the day for Rockies starter Kyle Kendrick, who left after 5 2/3 innings. Kendrick (3-10) allowed five runs on eight hits. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.
Posey produced the Giants' first three runs with an RBI single that scored Duffy in the first and a two-run single in the third that plated Bumgarner, who had singled, and Duffy.
"Early on there, I should have probably made a pitch around Posey," Kendrick noted. "I can't let him beat me."
Bumgarner's solo shot in the seventh completed the Giants' scoring. Six of the Giants' 10 hits went for extra bases.
All seven Rockies hits came from the top five batters in the lineup. Rosario had a pair of singles, and LeMahieu reached base three times with a single and two walks.
Colorado beat San Francisco in seven of the teams' first 10 meetings this season before losing the past two.
NOTES: Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado extended his hitting streak to 16, longest in the National League. ... Colorado SS Troy Tulowitzki singled in the third inning to reach base for the 27th consecutive game, equalling a career best. ... Giants RHP Matt Cain threw a bullpen session before the game and almost surely will be activated from the disabled list to start Thursday at Miami. The Giants currently list their starter for that game as "TBA." ... Before LHP Madison Bumgarner accomplished the feat Sunday at the age of 25 years, 331 days, Cain (26 years, 272 days) was the youngest Giant to reach 1,000 strikeouts. ... Only two left-handers in Giants history previously reached the milestone: Carl Hubbell and Mike McCormick. ... The Rockies won't have to change hotels when they begin a three-game interleague series across the San Francisco Bay in Oakland on Monday. LHP Jorge De La Rosa, who left his last start with a cut on his left middle finger, is scheduled to pitch the Tuesday game.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
Colorado
|
7 |
2 |
13 |
.226 |
10 |
8 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
San Francisco
|
10 |
3 |
23 |
.303 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |