San Francisco Giants taken down by Rockies 7-run 9th inning, Jeremy Affeldt officially says good-bye

August 25, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Matt Cain (18) reacts during the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

After the Rockies gave Matt Cain a little trouble in the top of the inning‒without scoring, the Giants put up two runs in the first for an early lead. Angel Pagan led-off with a single and Kelby Tomlinson followed with a single of his own. Matt Duffy hit a single to score Pagan and Buster Posey hit another single, plating Tomlinson.

The Giants scored another run in the sixth. With one out, Jarrett Parker hit a single, bringing Mac Williamson to the plate. He hit a ground ball to the pitcher who wasn’t able to come up the ball, allowing Williamson to reach first. Jackson Williams hit a ground ball to center, scoring Parker and giving the Giants a comfortable three run lead.

Bruce Bochy used an unprecedented eleven pitchers in Sunday’s game. Sunday was the first time in Giants baseball history that eleven pitchers were brought in to pitch a nine inning game. Matt Cain had a superb outing: he pitched five innings and he allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out one. Affeldt relieved him and faced two hitters for two outs. After Affeldt faced his hitters, Cody Gearrin got the third out to finish up the sixth inning.

Sergio Romo pitched to two hitters in the seventh for two out, and Brett Bochy got the third out to shut down the seventh. Mike Broadway faced two hitters, Josh Osich faced the third‒and together they shut down the eighth. We went into the ninth inning with me thinking: finally…a much-deserved, much-needed win for Matt Cain.

That brought us to Javier Lopez. Lopez faced one batter for the out, but gave up a hit to the second batter he faced. George Kontos entered the game, and with his reputation for getting the outs with runners on, I thought it was a lock. That’s what I get for thinking.

That’s when‒as my BFF Vickie said, “the wheels came off the bus.” Kontos gave up a base hit, then with two runners on board, he gave up a home run to tie the game. After that, the rims came off, followed by the axle. Cody Hall pitched to three hitters, followed by Yusmeiro Petit,  who managed-finally-to get the third out. By the time the inning was over, the Rockies put up a seven run inning.

The Giants took their turn at the plate in the bottom of the inning and in typical Giants fashion, they came out swinging. I thought‒here I go thinking again‒we might stage a comeback. Williams ground out, but then Alejandro De Aza drew a walk, Angel Pagan hit a double and Tomlinson walked. The bases were loaded for Duffy, but he wasn’t able to connect. Buster hit a ground ball to third and that ended the inning. They weren’t able to score again, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The final score was Giants 3, Rockies 7

See what I mean about the game being like our season? First we coasted along nicely, we hit a couple of snags along the way, then suddenly…oh well. Always next year, right?

Next: Bochy and Vogelsong salute the fans