Two Giants were ejected after Rafael Devers homered in the first and Rockies starter Kyle Freeland lost his mind. But the replacements each got two hits and Logan Webb got his 13th win.
It’s hard to say what set off Colorado Rockies starter Kyle Freeland Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday night at Coors Field. Maybe it was the strain of being 3-13 for a team with 99 losses. Maybe it was giving up his 21st home run of the season. Maybe he’s secretly a Boston Red Sox fan who’s furious
that Rafael Devers was playing first place. Regardless, after Devers crushed a 397-foot home run, Freeland lost his mind — and the Giants lost two starters.
Devers hit his 30th home run of the season and his third in the last three games to give the Giants a 2-0 lead two batters into the game, and admired his blast too long for Freeland’s tastes. Freeland started screaming at Devers, Devers started yelling back, then the benches cleared. Matt Chapman appeared to shove Freeland, Willy Adames sort of threw a punch, and all three players were ejected. Ironically, after Freeland’s tantrum, Devers ended up with one of the slowest home run trots in major league history, as he had to wait at first base for the benches to unclear.
The Giants had to scramble, replacing their No.3 and No. 4 hitters before they even came to back and shuffle the defense. Casey Schmitt took over in the No. 3 spot and played second base, while Christian Koss shifted to shortstop. Dominic Smith replaced Chapman, playing first, while Devers moved to third. It ended up working out pretty well! Even if Devers had to borrow Chapman’s glove.
Thankfully, Chapman’s mitt wasn’t ejected.
In the 5th inning, Schmitt hit a home run off reliever Antonio Senzatela, who did an admirable job in emergency relief of Freeland, going 4.2 innings and giving up five hits, the only run coming on Schmitt’s bomb. Schmitt fouled off four pitches before hitting a fastball into the “Dog Zone” in left field, as part of the Rockies’ “Bark At The Park” Night.
It was kind of Schmitt to give those dogs a ball to play with — they were, without exception, very good dogs.
That hit chased Senzatela. Angel Chivilli came in and gave up a single to Smith before Wilmer Flores took him deep to left — sadly, well away from the dog section.
Meanwhile, Logan Webb was mostly cruising, except when facing Hunter Goodman with runners on base. The Rockies All-Star catcher hit RBI singles off Webb in both the 3rd and 5th innings, though Koss turned a sweet 6-3 double play to get Webb out of the fifth and end his night after two runs, seven hits, two walks, seven Ks, and 94 pitches. By Coors Field standards, that’s a shutout.
Webb is still the major league leader in innings pitched and he’s only six strikeouts shy of 200 on the season. He probably won’t win the Cy Young, but he really should end up second of third in the voting.
Goodman continued his reign of terror in the 7th inning off reliever Jose Butto, working his second inning, With two outs in the 7th and Tyler Freeman on first, Goodman blasted one 440 feet to left field. The ball landed in the dog section, but it looked like it might hit Sirius, the Dog Star.
With the game suddenly tight, the bottom of the Giants lineup got them some breathing room. After Jung Hoo Lee legged out an infield hit, Patrick Bailey hit a two-run homer to right field. Despite Bailey watching the blast, which was almost certainly a dinger or a long out, reliever Jaden Hill did not respond with apoplectic rage.
Joey Lucchesi and Ryan Walker (who got his lucky 13th save) finished the game with two drama-free, baserunner-free innings, which meant the game ended before Goodman could even reach the on-deck circle. The Giants picked up their 9th win in their last 10 games, their 7th win in 9 games against Colorado, and got themselves one game clear of .500.
For the R0ckies, they notched their 100th loss of the season one day after Labor Day. They’re on pace for a 45-117 season, which would tie for the 4th-most losses in the post-1900 era of baseball. To their credit, they did have a lot of dogs at the game.
Wednesday night the Giants will go for the sweep with Robbie Ray (10-6, 3.18) on the mound facing German Marquez (3-12, 6.14), who gave up two home runs to Willy “Golden Gloves” Adames in his previous start against the Giants. Adames and Chapman should be rested after their surprise day off, after they ice down their knuckles and jog up the steps of the Denver Art Museum, assuming that’s an actual place.
One way or another, the Giants will be slugging tomorrow. Even if Kyle Freeland stops talking trash, though Logan Webb would say it’s unlikely.
