Early problems for Adrian Houser an omen as Giants fall to Rockies
DENVER - There are all sorts of ways to lose baseball games and the San Francisco Giants are exploring all of them.
A day after their comfortable lead over the Rockies turned into a weird-play, two-homer Coors Field walkoff loss, the Giants watched Adrian Houser revert to his April woes after four good May starts, and the offense did little, more shades of April, in an 8-3 loss.
One more in Sunday's finale and San Francisco will be in last place in the NL West.
The Giants are not winning games in-division, even against the Rockies, usually the West's doormat and a team San Francisco handled with ease last year. San Francisco has dropped 10 consecutive games to division opponents.
"It's hard for all of us," said rookie DH Bryce Eldridge, who doubled and scored in the eighth. "I know I want to win, I know everyone wants to win, so it's not easy.
"We're going to keep fighting, keep working. We have fun in this clubhouse, this team has a great time and we're hoping it's going to click soon. We all think it will and everyone's still got hope that this thing's going to turn around."
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That is the general sentiment in the clubhouse - things will start to even out at some point. But so far, it has been just a wide assortment of losses for the 22-36 club. They've dropped games with lots of defensive mistakes, baserunning mistakes, late losses, close losses, blowouts, you name it.
There are some throughlines in the Giants' mounting stack of losses, though, including the ongoing issues drawing walks - zero Saturday, with Colorado starter Ryan Feltner in top form - and the minimal power. San Francisco didn't homer in the first two games of the series until Drew Gilbert's two-run shot in the eighth Saturday. The Rockies have hit four, including Jake McCarthy's two-run shot off Houser in the fourth and Kyle Karros' solo homer off Ryan Borucki in the seventh Saturday.
Rockies 8, Giants 3
San Francisco
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
34
3
9
3
0
5
Adames ss
4
0
0
0
0
1
.235
Arraez 2b
4
0
0
0
0
0
.322
Schmitt lf
4
0
1
0
0
1
.288
Devers 1b
4
0
0
0
0
2
.242
Lee rf
4
1
2
0
0
0
.287
Chapman 3b
4
0
2
1
0
0
.234
Eldridge dh
4
1
1
0
0
1
.192
Haase c
3
0
1
0
0
0
.281
Gilbert cf
3
1
2
2
0
0
.241
Colorado
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
38
8
14
8
4
7
McCarthy cf
4
3
3
4
1
0
.288
Rumfield 1b
4
0
2
1
1
0
.284
Goodman dh
4
1
1
0
1
1
.244
Castro 3b-2b
5
0
2
1
0
1
.265
Johnston rf-lf
5
0
1
0
0
1
.307
Tovar ss
5
0
1
0
0
1
.219
S.Thompson lf
2
0
0
1
0
1
.154
a-Karros ph-3b
2
1
1
1
0
0
.208
Julien 2b
2
2
1
0
1
1
.209
b-Freeman ph-rf
1
1
1
0
0
0
.264
Sullivan c
4
0
1
0
0
1
.198
San Francisco
000
000
021_3
9
0
Colorado
200
210
30x_8
14
0
a-homered for S.Thompson in the 7th. b-doubled for Julien in the 7th.
LOB_San Francisco 4, Colorado 11. 2B_Chapman (14), Gilbert (5), Schmitt (12), Eldridge (4), Freeman (4). 3B_Lee (2). HR_Gilbert (3), off Castaño; McCarthy (3), off Houser; Karros (3), off Borucki. RBIs_Gilbert 2 (11), Chapman (18), Castro (19), S.Thompson (3), McCarthy 4 (23), Karros (15), Rumfield (28). SB_McCarthy (10).
Runners left in scoring position_San Francisco 4 (Chapman, Eldridge 2, Arraez); Colorado 7 (Castro, S.Thompson, Johnston, Goodman 2, Julien 2). RISP_San Francisco 2 for 10; Colorado 5 for 14.
Runners moved up_Lee, Haase. GIDP_Chapman, Gilbert.
DP_Colorado 2 (Castro, Tovar, Rumfield; Julien, Tovar, Rumfield).
San Francisco
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
Houser, L, 2-5
3
2-3
8
4
4
2
4
92
5.59
Hentges
1
1-3
2
1
1
2
1
32
1.17
Brubaker
1
0
0
0
0
2
14
2.86
Borucki
2
4
3
3
0
0
29
4.94
Colorado
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
Feltner, W, 2-1
6
4
0
0
0
2
63
4.85
Bernardino
1
1
0
0
0
1
14
3.86
Castaño
2
4
3
3
0
2
45
4.91
Inherited runners-scored_Hentges 2-0. HBP_Houser (S.Thompson). WP_Borucki.
ABS Challenge_Schmitt (Strike-Confirmed); Hentges (Ball-Overturned to Strike).
Umpires_Home, Mike Muchlinski; First, Emil Jimenez; Second, Gabe Morales; Third, Doug Eddings.
T_2:33. A_31,085 (50,144).
Eldridge, though, smoked a ball in the second that would have gone out of 26 parks but was an out Saturday. Willy Adames and Rafael Devers had the same fate Friday. "I thought I hit it good enough for here to go out," Eldridge said.
Manager Tony Vitello said he was watching the American flag in left field a lot because it gives the best read on which way the wind is blowing, "and I'm just telling you, the entire game it was either still or going towards the left-field foul pole, and when Bryce hit that ball, I looked and it was pointed straight at me and anyone else that was in the corner of that dugout. I don't think you call it unlucky, but it just was two innings of hard contact but nothing to show for it."
The offense was the primary problem in April, the pitching has taken its turn in May, but Houser hadn't been part of that, with a 2.82 ERA in his first four starts in the month. Saturday, he was off, especially in the first inning. He walked two and hit a batter, and he was fortunate to get out of the first allowing only two runs despite eight men coming to the plate, striking out Edouard Julien with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Houser was pitching on six days' rest, after an offday and Logan Webb's reinsertion into the rotation, which might have thrown things off initially. Houser said he felt good in the bullpen, "but as soon as I got out on the mound, it was like I couldn't really feel anything," he said. "I don't know if it was an adrenaline rush after being off for about a week, but I was struggling to find the mechanics."
He made an adjustment in the second and was much improved, but he had thrown 37 pitches in the first and was at 92 when he came out with two outs in the fourth. Webb worked 4⅓ innings Friday night, so the Giants' bullpen is getting taxed. Five relievers worked in Friday's game, three Saturday.
But Borucki worked two innings to possibly give the Giants a fighting shot with the bullpen Sunday if Robbie Ray can get deep into the game; Vitello said that he thinks the bullpen will be in better shape in the finale thanks to Borucki.
In any case, it might be tricky to get an extra arm to Colorado for Sunday's day game, and Tristan Beck, often the choice to come up, threw 32 pitches Friday night. Another option who's on the 40-man roster is former closer Ryan Walker, who has a 2.45 ERA and who threw only 10 pitches Friday. Wilkin Ramos isn't on the 40-man but he last worked Thursday and he has a 2.00 ERA in 17 games, with 27 strikeouts in 27 innings.
Searching for bright spots: Jung Hoo Lee had two more hits after a four-hit night right off the injured list on Friday, including a triple with two outs in the ninth. Matt Chapman, off to an astonishingly poor start, singled him in and also doubled earlier in the game. Gilbert, in center after Harrison Bader went on the IL earlier in the day, also had a pair of hits, and in a little fun moment before the game, Peyton Manning, Vitello's friend from Tennessee, spoke to the team briefly.
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