The Colorado Rockies did not just open their series against the San Francisco Giants with offense. They opened it with a flood.<\/p>\n
By the time Gabriel Hughes entered from the bullpen to make his Major League debut in the seventh inning, the Rockies already had a 14-3 lead, 17 hits, three home runs, two triples from Cole Carrigg, a career game from Jake McCarthy, and another strong start from Ryan Feltner. Colorado finished with a 15-3 win, pounding out 18 hits while getting run production from almost every part of the lineup.<\/p>\n
The Rockies improved to 36-53, while the Giants fell to 36-51. Colorado is now one game behind San Francisco in the NL West.<\/p>\n
Feltner controls the Giants<\/p>\n
Ryan Feltner had more than enough run support, but his outing was still one of the biggest reasons the game stayed under control. He gave Colorado six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits with nine strikeouts and no walks. The Giants scored in three separate innings, but Feltner avoided free traffic and kept them from building the type of inning that can change a game at Coors Field.<\/p>\n
Feltner set the tone immediately by striking out Luis Arr\u00e1ez on a changeup to open the game. That pitch became a major part of the night. Feltner threw the changeup 13 times, generated five whiffs on nine swings, and used it for four strikeouts. Its 56% whiff rate was his best mark of any pitch he used regularly, and it gave him a finishing pitch against a Giants lineup that was forced to cover multiple speeds.<\/p>\n
Feltner struck out the side in the second inning, then opened the third by striking out Victor Bericoto for his fourth straight strikeout. San Francisco broke through later in the inning when Arr\u00e1ez doubled and Casey Schmitt followed with a 104 mph RBI single, but Feltner limited the inning to one run and kept Colorado ahead 5-1.<\/p>\n
The pitch mix supported the line. Feltner threw his four-seam fastball 36% of the time, averaging 94.2 mph, and it produced four strikeouts with a 53% called-strike-plus-whiff rate. His slider was his second-most used pitch at 31%, generating six whiffs on 15 swings for a 40% whiff rate. Between the four-seamer, slider, and changeup, Feltner got 16 of his 17 whiffs and all nine of his strikeouts.<\/p>\n
The fourth inning was the only frame where Feltner helped create the damage. Jung Hoo Lee reached on a bunt single and advanced to second on Feltner\u2019s throwing error before Bryce Eldridge singled him home. Feltner again kept it to one run, then responded with a 1-2-3 fifth that included two more strikeouts.<\/p>\n
Rafael Devers got Feltner for the loudest swing against him in the sixth, a 104.1 mph, 432-foot solo homer to right field. Feltner finished the inning by getting Lee to fly out and striking out Willy Adames, ending his night with the Rockies ahead 14-3.<\/p>\n
This was not just a run-support start. Feltner missed bats, filled the zone, and leaned on a three-pitch core that gave the Giants very little room to turn contact into sustained pressure.<\/p>\n
Rockies jump Webb immediately<\/p>\n
Logan Webb never had a chance to settle in. McCarthy attacked the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning and drove a 92.2 mph sinker to right-center for a leadoff home run. The swing came off the bat at 105.1 mph and traveled 440 feet, giving Colorado a lead before Webb recorded an out.<\/p>\n
The inning did not stop with the first swing. Mickey Moniak, Hunter Goodman, and June NL Rookie of the Month<\/a> TJ Rumfield followed with three straight singles, and Cole Carrigg drew a bases-loaded walk. The first five Rockies reached base against Webb, forcing him into immediate damage control. Tyler Freeman then grounded into a double play, but Goodman scored on the play, giving Colorado a 3-0 lead after the first inning.<\/p>\n Colorado\u2019s approach carried into the second, but it showed up in a different way. Kyle Karros singled and stole second before Ezequiel Tovar forced Webb through an 11-pitch at-bat. Tovar fouled off four two-strike pitches, including three fastballs after the count reached 3-2, then drove a cutter to right-center for a two-run home run. The swing came off the bat at 101.7 mph and traveled 392 feet, pushing the Rockies\u2019 lead to 5-0.<\/p>\n The third inning showed the same problem for Webb. Carrigg opened the inning with a triple to right field, and Edouard Julien brought him home on a fielder\u2019s choice. Tovar later added a single, and McCarthy followed with an RBI single to right field before stealing second. By the end of the third, the Rockies had scored seven runs on 11 hits against Webb and had forced him into traffic in all three innings.<\/p>\n That was the best version of Colorado\u2019s offense against a starter. McCarthy punished the first pitch he saw. Tovar won a long at-bat and still got to damage. Carrigg added pressure with speed and extra-base contact. The Rockies were not just swinging early; they were forcing Webb to execute in different counts and punishing him when he did not.<\/p>\n The data matched the result. Webb allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs in three innings, and the Rockies produced eight hard-hit balls against him. He generated only eight whiffs on 43 swings, a 19% whiff rate, with a 17% called-strike-plus-whiff rate. Colorado put 17 balls in play against Webb, and 11 of them became hits.<\/p>\n Webb leaned on his cutter more than any other pitch, throwing it 39% of the time, but the Rockies handled it. They collected three hits on five balls in play against the cutter, with two hard-hit balls and a 95.3 mph average exit velocity. The sinker was also a problem from the first pitch, with McCarthy\u2019s leadoff homer setting the tone.<\/p>\n By the time San Francisco went to the bullpen in the fourth, Colorado had already built a 7-2 lead and forced the Giants into a game that was no longer being played on Webb\u2019s terms.<\/p>\n Rockies turn it into a blowout in the fifth<\/p>\n Matt Gage gave San Francisco its first clean inning in the fourth, but the reset did not last. The Rockies came back in the fifth with the same pressure they had created against Webb, and this time they turned a comfortable lead into a blowout.<\/p>\n The inning started with a walk from Julien, followed by singles from Karros and Tovar. That brought McCarthy back to the plate with the bases loaded, and he delivered the swing that put the game away. McCarthy drove a grand slam to right-center for his second home run of the night, pushing Colorado\u2019s lead to 11-2 and giving him a career-high six RBI. It marked McCarthy\u2019s second career grand slam, the first of which came on May 7<\/a> against the Mets.<\/p>\n Goodman kept the inning going with a double to left, and Rumfield followed with a walk. The Giants went to Ryan Walker, but the change did not stop the inning. Carrigg drove in both runners with his second triple of the game, then Freeman brought Carrigg home with an RBI single. Colorado scored seven runs in the inning and stretched the lead to 14-2.<\/p>\n The inning also showed how complete the offensive night had become. McCarthy supplied the biggest swings, but the fifth included a Julien walk, a Karros single, a Tovar single, a Goodman double, a Rumfield walk, Carrigg\u2019s second triple and Freeman\u2019s second run-scoring plate appearance. The Rockies were getting production from the top, middle and bottom of the order.<\/p>\n Carrigg\u2019s night stood out beyond the box score. His two triples gave Colorado extra-base production and forced San Francisco to defend the full field. Tovar added three hits, including his long two-run homer in the second. Karros reached base four times, stole a base, tripled and scored three runs. Freeman drove in two runs from the lower third of the order. Rumfield added a hit and walk, continuing a first half that has pushed him into notable franchise company among Rockies rookies before the All-Star break.<\/p>\n By the end of the fifth, Colorado had 14 runs, 17 hits, three home runs and two triples. The Rockies had already beaten Webb, then carried the same approach into San Francisco\u2019s bullpen. That turned the game from a strong offensive showing into one of their most lopsided wins of the season.<\/p>\n Hughes makes his MLB debut<\/p>\n By the seventh inning, the game had shifted into a different phase. McCarthy exited after his career night, Braxton Fulford entered for Goodman, Troy Johnston replaced McCarthy in left field, and Brett Sullivan took over for Rumfield at first base. The Rockies had already created separation, but the final three innings still carried another important development.<\/p>\n Hughes replaced Feltner to start the seventh and made his MLB debut with an 11-run lead. His first inning was clean, even after Eldridge reached on Karros\u2019 error. Hughes got Bericoto to ground into a double play, then retired Cavanaugh on a lineout to Carrigg in center field.<\/p>\n Hughes picked up his first career strikeout in the eighth, getting Jonah Cox swinging to open the inning.<\/p>\n San Francisco followed with singles from Schmitt and Heliot Ramos, but Hughes kept the inning scoreless by getting Drew Gilbert to ground out.<\/p>\n Colorado added one more run in the bottom of the eighth when Karros tripled off JT Brubaker and Tovar brought him home with a sacrifice fly. That pushed the lead to 15-3 and gave Tovar his third RBI of the night. Tovar finished with a home run, two singles, a sacrifice fly and three RBI, giving Colorado run production early and late.<\/p>\n Hughes returned for the ninth and finished the game with help from the defense. After Christian Koss flew out and Eldridge walked, Bericoto grounded into his second double play against Hughes, ending the game.<\/p>\n Hughes finished his debut with three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk with one strikeout. He threw 53 pitches, leaning heavily on his four-seam fastball. The pitch accounted for 35 of his 53 pitches, or 66% of his usage, and averaged 93.6 mph. He paired it mostly with his sweeper, which he threw 14 times, or 26% of his mix. The curveball and changeup were used only sparingly.<\/p>\n The swing-and-miss was limited. Hughes generated six whiffs on 30 swings, a 20% whiff rate, with an overall 21% called-strike-plus-whiff rate. All six whiffs came on the four-seamer. The Giants put nine balls in play against him, but only two went for hits, and Hughes kept the contact manageable with an 85.8 mph average exit velocity.<\/p>\n McCarthy led the offense with the best run-producing game of his career, finishing 4-for-5 with two home runs, six RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. He opened the game with a first-pitch homer, added an RBI single in the third and put the game away with a grand slam in the fifth.<\/p>\n Tovar finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, three RBI and two runs scored. Carrigg went 2-for-4 with two triples, three RBI and two runs scored. Karros reached base four times, going 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base and three runs scored. Goodman went 2-for-4 with a double, while Moniak added two hits and a walk.<\/p>\n Colorado finished 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. The Rockies also got two-out production from McCarthy, whose third-inning RBI single gave Colorado its only two-out RBI of the game.<\/p>\n San Francisco finished 2-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base. The Giants did not record a two-out RBI. Devers had the loudest swing for San Francisco with a solo homer in the sixth, while Schmitt finished with two hits and an RBI.<\/p>\n Feltner earned the win to move to 3-2, lowering his ERA to 4.27. Webb took the loss, falling to 5-6 with a 3.66 ERA after allowing seven earned runs in three innings. Hughes recorded a three-inning save in his debut, the second Rockie to do so this year.<\/p>\n Hughes became the eighth player to make his major league debut for Colorado this season, and the Rockies remain undefeated in July.<\/p>\n The Rockies and Giants continue the series Saturday night at Coors Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m. MDT on the Fourth of July.<\/p>\n Tomoyuki Sugano gets the ball for Colorado after the Rockies used only two pitchers in the series opener. Sugano enters at 8-4 with a 4.80 ERA and 48 strikeouts, and the Rockies will look for him to keep the bullpen rested after Feltner and Hughes covered all nine innings in Thursday\u2019s win.<\/p>\n San Francisco will turn to Robbie Ray, who enters at 7-6 with a 3.39 ERA and 82 strikeouts.<\/p>\n Fewer adsCreate community posts<\/a>Comment on articles, community postsRec comments, community postsNew, improved notifications system!<\/p>\n