The Giants appeared well on their way to opening the second half of the 2024 MLB season with a win over the lowly Colorado Rockies on Friday before a bullpen implosion resulted in a frustrating 7-3 loss at Coors Field.
San Francisco exited the All-Star break with the league's easiest remaining strength of schedule, according to Fangraphs, and needed to handle business against the division's last-place team to avoid slipping further down the wild card standings.
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Giants ace Logan Webb (L, 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 99 pitches) toed the rubber against Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland (W, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 4 K, 89 pitches) four days after a forgettable showing in his first career MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for San Francisco, Webb was unable to bounce back from his Midsummer Classic performance and the offense couldn't pick him up either.
Here are three takeaways from the Giants' (47-52) 4-3 loss to the Rockies (36-63):
Something About These Innings ...
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Webb is the first to admit that sometimes his outings don't get off to the best start.
“My first inning is usually my worst inning,” Webb told reporters Tuesday after his underwhelming All-Star Game performance.
That was the case again on Saturday against the Rockies.
Webb issued a hit and two walks to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first. He induced a groundball double play that scored the game's first run before a second Colorado runner scored on an infield hit to first base.
In 20 starts before Friday's outing, Webb had a 4.95 ERA in first innings this season, his second-worst mark in an inning behind his 5.29 ERA in fifth innings this season.
Speaking of the fifth inning ...
Webb settled in after the first, tossing three scoreless frames before running into trouble again in, you guessed it, the fifth inning. Webb surrendered a leadoff single to Sam Hilliard before Ezequiel Tovar demolished a two-run go-ahead home run to give Colorado a 4-2 lead.
FitzMagic
If you're the Giants, you hope your well-rested offense comes out of the gate firing in the second half against a bad Rockies team in a ballpark your hitters historically thrive in.
That hasn't been the case. San Francisco scored just three runs on Friday and struggled to get the bats going again on Saturday.
At least Tyler Fitzgerald came to play.
Trailing 2-0 in the third, Fitzgerald launched a solo home run to left to get the Giants on the board. The rookie came to the plate again in the top of the fifth and knocked in Mike Yastrzemski from third to tie the game with two outs.
Had To Have It
The Giants were able to generate some momentum heading into the All-Star break. They sat three games under .500 and a few back of the final Wild Card spot and were optimistic about their trajectory. Blake Snell was pitching well, the lineup was healthy and the rotation soon would get a boost in the form of rehabbing veteran starters Robbie Ray and Alex Cobb.
However, in two short games that momentum is dead.
A series loss to the third-worst team in baseball is a deflating way to begin the second half of the season and raises even more questions about the team's direction just 10 days out from the July 30 trade deadline.
This was not a bullpen game in which a banged-up lineup struggled to generate offense. The Giants had their ace on the mound and the offense couldn't pick him up. This was a series they needed to win.
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