The Giants’ Willy Adames connects for a sacrifice fly to drive in a run against Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the third inning Friday.
David Zalubowski/Associated Press
A couple of late extra runs had the San Francisco Giants feeling pretty good about getting back in the win column on Friday, even at Coors Field, an occasional house of horrors.
A day of strange plays was not over yet, though: a simple ball that kicked off the first-base bag to start the bottom of the ninth turned everything around, vintage Coors.
San Francisco
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
35
6
12
6
3
7
Adames ss
4
0
0
1
0
1
.239
Arraez 2b
4
1
2
0
0
0
.329
Schmitt lf
5
0
1
0
0
1
.289
Devers 1b
4
1
2
1
1
1
.247
Chapman 3b
5
1
1
1
0
1
.229
Lee rf
5
2
4
0
0
0
.283
Susac c
3
0
0
1
0
1
.291
Eldridge dh
1
1
1
1
2
0
.188
Bader cf
4
0
1
1
0
2
.170
Gilbert cf
0
0
0
0
0
0
.229
Colorado
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
39
8
13
7
3
8
McCarthy cf
5
1
2
0
0
2
.274
Freeman rf
3
1
2
0
1
0
.258
Rumfield 1b
5
0
1
0
0
1
.279
Goodman c
4
1
2
3
1
1
.244
Johnston lf
5
1
1
0
0
2
.310
Castro 2b
5
1
2
0
0
1
.261
Tovar ss
4
3
2
4
1
1
.220
Julien dh
4
0
1
0
0
0
.204
Karros 3b
2
0
0
0
0
0
.204
a-S.Thompson ph
0
0
0
0
0
0
.167
b-Stevens ph-3b
2
0
0
0
0
0
.071
San Francisco
001
200
012_6
12
2
Colorado
010
000
025_8
13
0
Two outs when winning run scored.
a- for Karros in the 6th. b-grounded out for S.Thompson in the 6th.
E_Arraez (3), Webb (1). LOB_San Francisco 10, Colorado 9. 2B_Eldridge (3), Schmitt (11), Lee (11), Goodman (9), Castro (9), McCarthy (8). 3B_Devers (1). HR_Tovar (3), off Winn; Goodman (13), off Kilian; Tovar (4), off Kilian. RBIs_Adames (19), Susac (10), Bader (14), Eldridge (3), Devers (29), Chapman (17), Tovar 4 (20), Goodman 3 (23). SB_Tovar (4). CS_Freeman (2). SF_Adames, Susac, Eldridge. S_Susac.
Runners left in scoring position_San Francisco 4 (Chapman, Susac, Adames 2); Colorado 8 (Johnston 3, Karros 2, Goodman 2, Stevens). RISP_San Francisco 2 for 9; Colorado 1 for 14.
Runners moved up_Bader, Rumfield 2, Julien 2.
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
4
3
1
1
3
5
86
4.82
1
0
0
0
0
6
1.96
1
0
0
0
1
13
2.70
1
1
0
0
0
1
16
4.41
1
2
2
2
0
0
18
2.45
5
5
5
0
1
20
3.96
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
3
5
3
3
2
2
70
7.22
1
1
0
0
0
2
20
2.61
1
0
0
1
0
18
0.00
1
1
0
0
0
2
19
3.27
1
1
1
1
0
1
11
2.45
1
3
2
2
0
0
21
5.13
Inherited runners-scored_Gage 1-0, Miller 1-0, Winn 1-0, Hill 2-0, Halvorsen 2-0. HBP_Webb (Freeman), Mejia (Arraez).
ABS Challenge_Webb (Ball-Confirmed); Karros (Strike-Confirmed); Castro (Strike-Overturned to Ball).
Umpires_Home, Doug Eddings; First, Mike Muchlinski; Second, Gabe Morales; Third, Emil Jimenez.
T_3:06. A_28,568 (50,144).
San Francisco had taken a three-run lead in the top of the ninth after Rafael Devers’ RBI triple and Matt Chapman’s RBI single provided some cushion. But all it took to upend things was a little bouncer by Jake McCarthy that hopped down the first-base line, then bounded away after ticking the front of the bag; reliever Caleb Kilian tried to get it with a dive but couldn’t make the play.
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Three batters later, Hunter Goodman tied it up with a three-run homer off the foul pole in left, Willi Castro singled and Ezequiel Tovar clocked his first career walk-off homer, also off Kilian, to send the reeling Giants to an extra-painful 8-6 loss, the team’s fourth in a row. San Francisco (22-35) is 13 games below .500 for the first time since the end of 2018 season.
“This place, no lead is safe, either way,” Giants starter Logan Webb said. “I’ve seen and played in a lot of crazy games here. It just sucks we lost.”
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Kilian has three saves, but has had a rough May, allowing 10 earned runs in 11 innings this month after Friday’s five.
“The last inning, obviously, is a bitter pill, unfortunately one that we’ve experienced before,” manager Tony Vitello said. “The park plays into it a little bit, but truly their hitters all took good swings. Good lineup, live park, playing in their home in front of their home fans and they executed.”
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Kilian went max effort for McCarthy’s grounder. “I didn’t expect it to bounce off the base like that,” he said. “I did my best to make that play.”
From there, his first Coors Field experience got worse. He’d been warned his stuff wouldn’t perform the same way at high altitude, then he got the live show, especially on Tovar’s homer.
“I didn’t think that would go, it looked like he was out front, but I think my stuff was a lot shorter than normal,” Kilian said. “It doesn’t move the same here, obviously, and the ball flies a little longer. I’m definitely going to make an adjustment my next time here. Things kind of leaked on the side and you can’t make that mistake here.”
The Giants’ bullpen, projected to be a potential problem area before the season, was good in April, with a 3.19 ERA that was second best in baseball. In May, the ERA is up 4.04 after allowing seven runs Friday.
Until the final moments, Giants right fielder Jung Hoo Lee, just off the injured list after missing eight games with back spasms, was the focal point. Lee had a four-hit night and made two remarkable catches.
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“His first swing, you could tell how anxious he was to get back to playing — he about came out of his shoes and his batting gloves,” Vitello said. “It was impressive how he kind of picked up where he left off.”
In the fourth inning, Lee crashed into the metal grill under the out-of-town scoreboard to make a sensational inning-ending catch, stranding a man at third. The next inning, he might have surpassed himself. After losing Troy Johnston’s ball in the lights, Lee made the play while lying supine on the outfield grass, half rolled to his right side.
“While sliding down, I saw a small glimpse of the ball and then I got lucky to catch it,” Lee said, with Justin Han interpreting, adding that he didn’t have entirely everything to do with it. “I’m going to be honest, the ball came into the glove.”
This time, Colorado left men at second and third.
Elsewhere, it was more 2026 messy Giants. With men at the corners in the second, Colorado’s Edouard Julien broke for second, and catcher Daniel Susac threw up the middle to second baseman Luis Arraez, who then fired the ball home when Tovar sprinted from third. Tovar arrived well in advance of the throw, and Arraez was charged with an error when his throw skipped past Susac, allowing Julien to go to third.
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It wasn’t a perfectly executed play by any means. Susac, from his knees, didn’t get off his strongest throw. Arraez wasn’t far enough in front of the bag to have a real shot at the runner.
In the fourth, Gold Glove winner Webb, also just off the IL, fielded a grounder by Tovar but threw high over first, putting Tovar at second; it took Lee’s first showstopper to prevent an unearned run.
Webb went 4⅓ innings and allowed just the one run, the steal of home, along with three hits and three walks; he also struck out five. He had been out since his May 5 start with what was described as left knee bursitis, and he didn’t look quite as agile as usual fielding Friday, a la that error.
Webb said he’ll be working on his fielding on Sunday, but he was happy with how he felt.
“The walks kind of stink, the throw was awful, but for the most part it’s probably the best I felt physically all season, which is a step in the right direction,” Webb said. “I thought the stuff was good. I thought the velo was better. I’ve just got to attack more and it’s a hard place because stuff doesn’t move the exact same here. I’ve played here long enough to know I’ve got to make an adjustment.”
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The bullpen kept things quiet until the eighth, when Tovar drilled a two-run homer to center off Keaton Winn.
San Francisco’s first run came in the third when Bryce Eldridge doubled, went to third on a flyball and scored on Willy Adames’ sacrifice fly to center.
In the fourth, the Giants walked twice and scored twice in the inning. San Francisco is dead last in that category, but the walks, to Devers and Eldridge, provided tinder for the rally, with Susac providing a sacrifice fly and Harrison Bader an RBI single.
Arraez had another multi-hit game, that’s 21 this season and has 33 hits in May, with just three strikeouts.
Devers, Oracle’d two games in a row in San Francisco on doubles that would have gone out of all 29 other parks, had the same thing happen Friday — at Coors Field, which generally wouldn’t be the spot you’d think. His triple to right would have been out of 25 other parks. One place it would have been out: Oracle Park.