Giants Rally, Snap Rockies Winning Streak

Thairo Estrada of the Giants hitting a home run against the Rockies

Photo by Kavin Mistry/Getty Images

May 17, 2024

Giants 10, Rockies 5

SAN FRANCISCO (May 17) — A fifth-inning three-run homer by Thairo Estrada off Colorado Rockies starter Ryan Feltner turned the game around for the San Francisco Giants, who defeated the Rockies, 10–5, Friday night before 32,025 at Oracle Park. The come-from-behind Giants victory snapped the Rockies’ season-long winning streak at seven. Estrada batted 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBI, and three runs scored. Adding to his offensive effort was Luis Matos, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI.

Rockies – Giants Game Summary

The Rockies started hot against Giants starter Mason Black. Designated hitter Charlie Blackmon led off the game with a single to center and advanced to third on a follow-up double by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Third baseman Ryan McMahon brought both in with a double off the wall in right. A third consecutive double, this one by second baseman Brendan Rodgers, plated McMahon and gave the Rockies a 3–0 lead. Center fielder Brenton Doyle, right fielder Jake Cave, and catcher Jacob Stallings could not continue the hit parade, however. A strikeout, a fly to left, and a popup to first retired the side.

The Giants responded in the bottom of the first after a one-out walk by first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. Estrada, the second baseman, hit a potential side-retiring double-play grounder to third, but an errant relay by Rodgers after the force at second kept the inning alive. Third baseman Matt Chapman made the Rockies pay for the mistake with an RBI double, the 200th two-bagger of his career.

A one-out solo homer by rookie left fielder Jordan Beck, his second of the season, gave the Rockies a 4–1 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, the Giants narrowed the gap to 4–2 after a pair of doubles, one by right fielder Mike Yastrzemski and the other by Matos, the center fielder.

The Tables Turn

The Giants opened the bottom of the fifth with consecutive singles, the first by designated hitter Jorge Soler and the second by Wade. Next came Estrada’s homer, which not only turned the game around for the Giants but also served as a knockout blow to Feltner. In came Victor Vodnik, whom Chapman greeted with a single. A Yastrzemski single advanced Chapman to third, and a one-out swinging bunt up the third-base line by Matos brought Chapman home to make the score 6–4.

The Rockies made it a 6–5 game in the top of the sixth after a two-out walk by Blackmon and a double to left by Tovar, both off reliever Luke Jackson. Erik Miller relieved Jackson, and after walking McMahon, got Rodgers to ground into a side-retiring 6–4 force play.

The Giants put the game away by scoring a pair of runs in both the seventh and eighth innings. To open the seventh, Rockies reliever Jake Bird plunked Chapman and walked Yastrzemski. Two batters later, with Matos at bat, Bird uncorked a wild pitch, advancing Chapman to third. Matos hit a soft checked-swing grounder to the right side, and by the time Bird scooped it up, his only play was at first. Two batters later, shortstop Marco Luciano drove Yastrzemski in with a single to right, the first hit and first RBI of his career. In the eighth, a two-run, two-out Matos double to left off Anthony Molina completed the scoring.

What Went Right for the Rockies

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Jumped Out to Early Lead

Scoring four runs across the first two innings is typically a good formula for success. The Rockies did so thanks to five hits, four for extra bases.

Top-of-Order Production

By extension, the first four hitters in the lineup — Blackmon, Tovar, McMahon, and Rodgers — went a combined 7-for-17 (.411) with four doubles, four RBI, two walks, a hit-by-pitch, four runs scored, and only one strikeout.

Fielding

Brenton Doyle made a leaping catch at the fence in the third to rob Soler of at least a double. Brendan Rodgers made a diving stop to his left to snatch a hit away from Wade.

What Went Wrong for the Rockies

Thairo Estrada, Matt Chapman, and Luis Matos

Estrada, Chapman, and Matos combined to hit 9-for-14 with four doubles, a homer, nine RBI, a hit-by-pitch, and six runs scored.

Pitching Mistakes

Every Rockies hurler gave up at least one run Friday night. Feltner coughed up five runs on seven hits and two walks. Four of the seven hits came on middle-middle pitches. “Terrible. No feel for anything tonight,” Feltner said of his location after the game. “Super-frustrating timing, with the streak that we had going on. The guys were playing well. They put up a lot of runs. I gotta be able to—I just didn’t have any feel for anything tonight, so I’m frustrated about it. And I’m frustrated for our guys because everybody’s playing really well.”

Vodnik, Bird, and Molina, all in relief, surrendered one, two, and two runs, respectively. Bird added three walks. Black said Bird “can’t seem to get some momentum,” pointing out that he issued a leadoff walk in his first inning and a hit batter followed by a walk in his second inning. “It’s not what we need from Jake,” Black said, “and Jake will be the first to tell you (that). The inconsistency, especially on the base-on-balls this season, has been a problem for Jake. We’ve gotta get to the drawing board with Jake somehow and get him in the strike zone with his weapons.”

Off-line Throws

In addition to the errant relay on the potential double play in the first, Rodgers threw high on a relay throw to the plate. This came on the Chapman double, when an on-target throw would have had a good chance to nail Estrada. On Luciano’s RBI single in the seventh, Jake Cave threw home, attempting to put out Yastrzemski, but the throw sailed over the head of Stallings and hit the backstop. The throw might have been too late to retire Yastrzemski, but the overthrow allowed Luciano to easily take second.

Runners Left in Scoring Position

Of the ten runners the Rockies left on base, six were in scoring position. Four of the runners stranded in scoring position came in the first five innings, when the Rockies could have possibly blown the game open or at least padded their lead. Furthermore, in the first and then again in the fourth, they had runners in scoring position with nobody out and failed to bring the runs around.

Quick Hits

Rodgers’ first-inning double left the bat at 111.1 mph, his hardest-hit ball since June 26, 2022 (111.8 mph). … Beck, with his second-inning homer, now has a six-game hitting streak. He has batted .348 (8-for-23) during the streak with a double, two homers, seven RBI, and three runs scored. … Wade’s first-inning walk extended his on-base streak to 17 games. His 30 walks are tied for second in the NL this season, trailing only Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers (33). … The Giants are now 13–0 in 2024 when scoring five runs or more, the only team in the majors with an undefeated record when doing so. … Stallings got hit with a pitch on the left forearm, drawing a visit from Black and the trainer. He turned out to be okay, with Black saying the ball hit him on the fleshy part of his forearm.

Looking Ahead

Sean Hjelle notched the win in relief, with Feltner taking the loss. The Rockies (15–29) and Giants (21–25) will play the second game of their three-game series Saturday. Rockies left-hander Ty Blach (1–1, 3.00 ERA) will take the hill against Giants lefty Kyle Harrison (3–1, 3.42 ERA). First pitch will be at 1:05 pm Pacific/2:05 pm Mountain.