What we learned as Giants drop finale, series to Rockies

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The Giants got stunned in the final inning of Tuesday's doubleheader but talked afterward about how eager they were to put the blown lead behind them. They couldn't quite do it. 

One big inning in the middle of the afternoon led to a 6-5 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. The Giants dropped the series to the division's worst team and went 2-4 on the road trip. They also might have lost another key player. 

After playing a doubleheader on Tuesday, the teams waited nearly 90 minutes for the first pitch because of rain in the Denver area. The Giants jumped ahead with another early homer from a longtime star, but the Rockies had a walk-fueled six-run rally in the fifth off Logan Webb and Matt Wisler. 

A mix of poor command from Daniel Bard and some great takes from Giants hitters led to two straight walks to open the ninth. After back-to-back strikeouts, Brandon Crawford and Mauricio Dubon took off on a double steal, with Crawford scoring when the throw to second reached center field. With the tying run on third, Darin Ruf grounded out to short. 

Here are three things to know, starting with another potentially big blow: 

Another One Down

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Gabe Kapler said earlier this week that he just wanted the Giants to leave town healthy. They might have suffered a big blow in the middle innings. Buster Posey was replaced by Curt Casali in the bottom of the seventh, with no immediate explanation for the move. 

There was no obvious injury, but Posey did try to stretch a single into a double in the fifth inning. He was thrown out for the third out, and two innings later, Alex Dickerson took his spot in the on-deck circle for an at-bat that would have to wait another inning. 

The Giants already are without the top three hitters in their lineup: Tommy La Stella, Mike Yastrzemski and Donovan Solano, although Yastrzemski should return this weekend. 

All Downhill in the Fifth

Webb retired the first 10 hitters he faced, which is hard to do in Denver, but the wheels came off in the fifth inning. With one out, the Rockies went single, single, walk, single, walk, strikeout, walk. The final free pass came on Webb's 38th pitch of the inning and final one of the day. 

Wisler took over and immediately gave up an RBI single to opposing pitcher Jon Gray. Wisler then hung an 0-2 slider that Raimel Tapia lined up the middle to bring two more runs home. The Rockies took a 6-2 lead, with all the runs charged to Webb. 

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Crawford got the Giants on the board with a two-run shot in the second, his 12th career homer at Coors Field. Crawford, Brandon Belt and Posey have combined for 29 homers in Denver over the years. 

Ruf got the Giants within a pair in the top of the seventh, hitting a two-out, two-run homer to right field that was similar to the grand slam he just barely missed at Petco Park. The baseball gods evened it out. The homer was the fourth of the year for Ruf and came in just his 42nd at-bat. 

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