San Francisco – Jordan Hicks was expected to start the San Francisco Giants series finale against the Colorado Rockies Sunday afternoon. But according to manager Bob Melvin, he was expected to make his way to the bullpen.
Melvin sent Hicks to the pen for Sunday’s matinee. That didn’t change the Giant’s string of luck, they won their fourth consecutive game, 5-3 over the NL West basement dweller Rockies just hours after taking both games of a doubleheader yesterday.
“We needed that for sure,” Giants third baseman Matt Chapman said. “It’s not easy to win two games of a doubleheader and it’s not easy to four-game sweep somebody, so for us to be able to find a way to get that done is huge. We’re trying to push as hard as you can to win every game.”
The win puts the Giants within striking distance of the third and final wild-card spot in the National League, now at 3 ½ games out. They have been 6-5 since the All-Star break and are now winners of five of their last six games.
“We know we have to play well to continue to be in this fight,” Melvin said. “There’s some fight in all these games, one a little bit different each and every game.
Today, we had some great contributions. It ended up being a nice day and did enough, offensively, with some big hits at times.”
Hicks entered the game in the sixth inning with the Giants up 3-1. He allowed two runs on three hits, one of which was a home run to Michael Toglia in the seventh inning, with one strikeout. Colorado pulled back a run in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Hunter Goodman, scoring Ezequiel Tovar who singled with one out.
Hicks has struggled since his first month of the season, where he went 1-0 in five starts with a 1.86 ERA and 21 strikeouts. Since then, he’s won just two games, going 2-7 since Sunday was his first outing out of the bullpen. Hicks was not available for interviews after the game.
“It’s not the easiest transition in the world (to go from starting to the bullpen),” said Melvin. “There’s different routines you’re going through and the adrenaline is a lot different, and you’re not pacing yourself anymore.”
Instead of Hicks starting his day on the mound, Erik Miller opened the game for the Giants, getting Tovar to fly out to lead off the game before striking out both Charlie Blackmon and Brenton Doyle swinging to end the first. Randy Rodriguez, who earned the win for the Giants on Sunday, took over in the second inning, retiring the first six batters he faced.
Along with Miller, both relievers opened the game retiring the first nine Rockies. Rodriguez got tagged in the fourth inning, allowing Tovar to lead off the inning with a double before Blackmon brought him home with an RBI single, cutting the Giant’s lead, then, to 3-1.
Rodriguez bounced back quickly, however, getting the next three Colorado players to fly out to end the inning. Taylor Rogers and Spencer Bivens each pitched scoreless innings in the fifth and the eighth, respectively, and Camilo Doval earned his 20th save of the season despite allowing a pair of
singles, one of which scored a run, to open the ninth.
San Francisco started the game hot with a solo home run by Casey Schmitt. Then an RBI triple by Derek Hill, scoring Michael Conforto, followed by a deep RBI ground-rule double by Jorge Soler whose hit was just shy of carrying over the wall in left for what would’ve been a two-run, giving the Giants an early 3-0 lead.
The Giants struck again with a pair of put-away runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a two-RBI base hit by Chapman with two outs and the bases loaded.
“We’re getting some bigger hits that are situational at-bats,” Melvin said. “We’re just playing cleaner baseball.”
The team will have Monday off before hosting the Oakland Athletics in the first part of the last Bay Bridge series for a pair of games starting Tuesday night.
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