SAN FRANCISCO — Alex Cobb’s precision pitching, Joey Bart’s clutch hitting and Brandon Crawford’s third home run of the season paced the Giants to a 7-1 win Wednesday that secured a series sweep of the Colorado Rockies.
A sun-splashed crowd of 23,341 watched the Giants notch their first series sweep this season, via their 10th straight win against the Rockies, dating to last August.
It also extended the Giants’ win streak to five, after losing their previous five when they were shorthanded with several players on the COVID list.
“We know what kind of team we are when everybody is in there,” first baseman Brandon Belt said. “We can withstand a player or two being out for a while. But we had half our team gone, and that’s tough to overcome sometimes.”
Added Cobb: “We all knew this is us, but it’s nice to have confirmation that this is the way we should be playing.”
Next up is a Thursday flight to St. Louis, where they’ll play Friday through Sunday before a three-game series in Colorado.
Cobb and previously unbeaten Rockies starter Chad Kuhl kept things scoreless through three innings before the Giants broke through offensively. That shouldn’t have been too surprising. The Giants outscored the Rockies 24-8 over the three-game set.
“When we’re together and we’re near healthy, and with new contributions, we’re a deep offensive club,” manager Gabe Kapler said.
It was Bart’s RBI single that highlighted a three-run, go-ahead rally in the fourth inning. His clutch hit came on an 0-2 pitch, and it came an inning after he struck out 33rd time in 58 at-bats this season.
Crawford’s third home run of the season (385 feet) extended the Giants’ lead to 5-0, and it chased previously unbeaten starter Chad Kuhl.
One more offensive highlight: Joc Pederson theatrically ended an 0-for-22 skid in the sixth, dribbling a 52 mph single that hugged the first-base line all the way to the bag, which Pederson crossed with his arms raised in celebration and relief.
COBB’S HOT START
Cobb (2-1) opened with five scoreless innings before getting pulled in the sixth, after 85 pitches (61 strikes) with just three hits and two walks.
He retired 10 consecutive batters after yielding a single to leadoff batter Connor Joe to open the game. Cobb issued a two-out walk to Blackmon and then struck out C.J. Cron with a 93-mph sinker to keep the shutout bid intact through four innings.
Cobb’s second win came the same day his former Tampa Bay teammate Evan Longoria made his long-awaited season debut. Longoria, coming off finger surgery on March 28, struck out three times in his first four at-bats before reaching on an error in the eighth.
“He’s somebody I got comfortable using early in my career,” Cobb said of Longoria, a former Tampa Bay teammate. “I challenged him (today) with well-hit ground balls that he made look easy.”
With runners at the corners, Jose Alvarez relieved Cobb and failed to cleanly field Charlie Blackmon’s slow comebacker, allowing Dom Nunez to score and cut the Giants’ lead to 5-1.
This start was a far cry from Cobb’s outing 10 days earlier, when he got pulled only two outs into the first inning here, after falling into a 5-0 hole in an eventual 11-5 loss to Washington. He drew a no-decision in his ensuing start last Friday, allowing two runs in five innings in an eventual 3-2 defeat to St. Louis, which is where the 49ers next open a three-game series Friday after an off-day Thursday.
BART SHOWS UP ON TIME
Kuhl, who entered 3-0, threw three scoreless innings before the Giants rallied in the fourth for a 3-0 lead.
The Giants’ most encouraging at-bat of that rally came from Bart, who delivered an RBI single up the middle for a 2-0 lead. Facing an 0-2 count and his second strikeout of the day, Bart singled up the middle to drive in Thairo Estrada.
Kapler called it a timely hit that was “important for all of us and (Bart’s) confidence.”
Bart’s second strikeout of the day would come in his next at-bat. He got hit by a pitch to help stoke the eighth-inning rally.
Bart came through with a defensive gem, too. He threw out Garrett Hampson attempting a delayed steal to end the Rockies’ seventh-inning chances. “It was a good, heads-up play and a great, strong throw,” Kapler said. “And obviously Craw has the best instincts on the field (to make the catch and tag).”
NOTES
— Mike Yastrzemski broke the scoreless stalemate by sliding in safely on Crawford’s grounder to first with no outs. Yastrzemski led off with a single, took second on an errant pickoff attempt, then scooted to third on Thairo Estrada’s single to center. Crawford came home on a Brandon Belt flyout for the 3-0 lead.
— After his infield single, Pederson drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth, on an 11-pitch at-bat that began in an 0-2 hole. Pederson had opened 0-for-3 with to extend his slump to 0-for-22 (0-for-May) since an adductor strain kept him out three games.
— Relievers Alvarez, John Brebbia, Tyler Rogers and Jarlin Garcia did not allow a run in relief of Cobb. Rogers pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, then Garcia did the same in the ninth, striking out Ryan McMahon to end the game.
— Longoria was told by Kapler on Tuesday night to be ready for his potential season debut this game, after originally planning for it to come Friday. “I’ve obviously been waiting a long time to get on the field, so it feels like Christmas morning to put on the uniform again and compete,” Longoria said at his locker before the game.
— After pummeling their way to 8-5 and 9-2 wins the previous two games against Colorado, the Giants struggled to produce runs in Wednesday’s initial innings. They stranded two runners in the first inning and again in the third, that latter rally spoiled by strikeouts from Longoria and Pederson.
— The Giants’ 10-game win streak over the Rockies matches their longest in team history, during a stretch from Sept. 2012 to May 2013.
— Reliever Jake McGee went on the 15-day injured list, to which Kapler said: “It’s not something that popped up in a significant way. It popped up enough this morning that it’s best for him and the team to take a little blow.”
— Infielder Donovan Watson was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, in exchange for pitcher Prelander Berroa. Infielder Mike Ford was designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Source: www.mercurynews.com