The San Francisco Giants took their lumps against their heated rivals over the weekend, and the aftereffects of the three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers were evident early in their Monday contest.
San Francisco (70-77) started slowly against Colorado (64-83) in the opener of a four-game series but rallied to win 10-7 in 10 innings.
The series continues Tuesday night in Denver. The Giants originally announced Carlos Rodon as the starter, but his turn is being pushed back due to a blister. Manager Gabe Kapler announced after Monday’s game that John Brebbia would start a bullpen game on Tuesday.
Brebbia (6-2, 2.90 ERA) is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 17 career appearances against the Rockies, all in relief. In seven outings vs. Colorado this year, the right-hander is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA across 5 1/3 innings.
Colorado will send lefty Kyle Freeland (9-9, 4.43 ERA) to the mound.
For San Francisco, the biggest news occurred off the playing field on Monday. Giants general manager Scott Harris left the organization to become the president of baseball operations for the Detroit Tigers, leaving a vacancy in the front office on top of the holes to fill on the roster in the offseason.
Harris helped build the Giants team that won a franchise-record 107 games last season.
“I’m really happy for Scott,” Kapler said before the Monday game. “It’s not a surprise, right? He was so meaningful for us over the last couple of years. Coming to San Francisco, he already had a strong track record of success in Chicago (with the Cubs) and was very well thought of across the industry.
“It surprised no one that there would be teams that would be interested in having Scott lead their baseball ops organization.”
The Giants are wrapping up a disappointing 2022 that likely will see them end up with a losing record after they finished 52 games above .500 in 2021.
The Rockies are going to finish with a losing record for the fourth straight season, but they were playing good baseball lately before blowing a four-run lead to San Francisco on Monday night.
Colorado appeared to be on its way to its third straight win and fourth in five games before the Giants tied it in the ninth and won it on Thairo Estrada’s three-run homer in the 10th.
The Rockies have their best starter on the mound on Tuesday night in hopes of turning things around.
Freeland experienced a slow start to the season but he has pitched well recently. He tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday and has allowed just two runs in three starts covering 18 1/3 innings this month (0.98 ERA).
“I feel good right now for sure, definitely in a groove,” Freeland said after his win in Chicago. “I feel really good about my entire arsenal right now and everything has been working with me, not against me.”
Freeland is 5-2 with a 3.53 ERA in 10 starts since the All-Star break.
In 19 career starts against the Giants, Freeland is 7-4 with a 4.17 ERA. He has faced them twice this year, going 0-0 with a 5.84 ERA.
–Field Level Media