“When you got positive vibes from announcing those two names, I think it’s a kickstart,” Vitello said before his team hopped out of the dugout and put up four runs in the first inning en route to a 6-4 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field.
Plagued by an inability to get their offense and their pitching whirring at the same time, the Giants got both Saturday, and the defense, which comes and goes, was tip-top, with third baseman Casey Schmitt and first baseman Rafael Devers — more than once — coming in for special notice. Mental mistakes: none. Details: heeded. This is the way to get rejuvenated, whether or not there’s time left to make any real push or not.
Arraez, naturally, got things going in the first with an opposite-field single, Schmitt doubled and Devers walked — then provided one of the more key elements of the inning, barreling into second on Jung Hoo Lee’s grounder, helping prevent an inning-ending double play ball. A run scored, Willy Adames then cracked a two-run double and Bryce Eldridge added an RBI double.
Things didn’t end there. Arraez provided another single and an RBI the next inning, then Eldridge a Leviathan home run, 458 feet to right center — on a 76 mph changeup from Rockies rookie Sean Sullivan in the third. Arraez finished with three hits.
Starter Robbie Ray, one of last year’s All-Stars, gave the Giants a brief scare when he tripped over the first-base bag completing a play in the first and tumbled down the line. He stayed in but gave up a hit, a walk and then a three-run homer by Turlock’s Cole Carrigg before snapping to with five scoreless innings to complete his night.
Devers helped bail Ray out in the sixth, his final inning, with a diving play to tag first base and get speedy Jake McCarthy to end the inning — leaving two Rockies in scoring position — and Devers made a diving play to rob Ezequiel Tovar of a hit in the seventh. For the second night in a row, Schmitt made a wowzah play ranging into foul ground and launching a throw to first; this time, retiring Tyler Freeman in the eighth, he casually kept trotting straight into the dugout, extra style points.
The bullpen, one of the less reliable elements the past two months, worked the final three, with Caleb Kilian allowing a two-out run in the ninth before completing the save.
The team’s catchers are throwing out runners at a 21% clip, but Eric Haase nailed Troy Johnston trying to steal second. Just all in all a good overall game, and needed as Vitello emphasizes a better outlook.
“You pretend you’re restarting the season a little bit, you’ve just got to put your head down and work and hope for things to turn around,” Webb said. “We have a full group of very hard working players that want to win. I know the standings may not show it, but we do really want to win, we’re trying our best to win. Not that that makes it any better, but I think when you do that and you get a group of talented players like we have here, things turn around at some point.”
The game’s start was delayed by 46 minutes because of lightning in the area, and another 10 minutes-plus when home-plate umpire Scott Barry, who’d taken a foul ball off the mask earlier, left after the fourth inning and was replaced by Manny Gonzalez.