San Francisco Giants Drop Series Opener to Colorado

San Francisco Giants Ace Madison Bumgarner fans 9, but the Rockies’ bats stay red hot as the Giants drop series opener to division foe.

A two-run blast from Colorado shortstop, Trevor Story, and an rbi single from Mark Reynolds lifted the Rockies over the San Francisco Giants in the first game of a four game series.

The Colorado Rockies sit at the top of the National League West just a half a game back behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants had a chance to change the tone of the game after Rockies starting pitcher, Jon Gray, departed the game after suffering an injury to a left big toe.

There were few moments in the game where the Giants found themselves in scoring opportunities, but the Giants only run of the game came on a sacrifice fly from Eduardo Nunez to score Hunter Pence in the seventh inning.

Brandon Crawford was not in the starting lineup due to a family emergency, but managed to find his way on the field late in the eighth inning to pinch hit for catcher Tim Federowicz.

The Giants will be without their all-star backstop Buster Posey, who was placed on the 7 day concussion watch on Monday, but will be able to return April 18.

Madison Bumgarner continues to search for his first win of the season, and although this may not have been his best outing, his performance is not the reason the Giants lost. The Giants lost because they failed to capitalize on base hits with less than two outs.

Past series against the Colorado Rockies have never known to be a rubber match. Colorado’s bats are stacked, starting with Charlie Blackmon at the top of the lineup all the way down to Trevor Story in the six spot. The Giants need to score runs if they want to win a ball game.

Takeaways:

•  Bruce Bochey continues to shake up the lineup Thursday. Joe Panik moved up to the two slot, from the seven spot, bumping Brandon Belt down to batting third. Tim Fedorowicz made his debut  behind the plate as a San Francisco Giant.
• Madison Bumgarner had a quality start. Besides the two-run blast in the fourth and the rbi single in the sixth, Bumgarner went 6 innings pitched, allowed 1 walk, and recorded 9 strikeouts.
• Strength of the National Leagues West: the giants have yet to face an opponent outside of their own division. The early signs of weakness in the bullpen are overblown, and instead fans should recognize the strength of the National League West. Arizona and Colorado are two teams, very close to graduating from the rebuilding class of post-season potential.

Next: How the Giants' Top Prospects are Doing So Far

The San Francisco Giants take on the Colorado Rockies tomorrow night in the first orange Friday of 2017. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pt. You can watch on NBCSBA, and listen in on KNBR 680.