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San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Four Games with Colorado

By Sean Bialaszek

Apr 7, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (R) celebrates with third base coach Phil Nevin (16) after hitting a grand slam home run during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 7, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt (R) celebrates with third base coach Phil Nevin (16) after hitting a grand slam home run during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Francisco Giants
Apr 15, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Jarrett Parker (center) is helped off the field after an injury in the third inning of their MLB baseball game with the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports /

3 DOWN

1 – Get Bumgarner a Win

Three starts into Madison Bumgarner‘s 2017 season, and the team has yet to win when he takes the mound. During Thursday’s series opener, Bumgarner wasn’t his normal self with impeccable command, but he did well to give the Giants seven solid innings and allow only three runs. But the offense couldn’t back him up, dropping him to 0-2 on the year.

Bumgarner’s taken two tough-luck losses when the offense couldn’t produce enough to make up for his very few mistakes, and the bullpen also led a lead slip away on opening day. Getting the team ace in the win column would be a great way to put a little extra life into this team.

2 – Finish the Comeback

It’s not a secret that the Giants haven’t had a ninth-inning comeback in a long, long time. That streaked continued on Thursday night, despite what looked like an inning that could send the fans home happy. Rockies’ closer Greg Holland loaded the bases on two hits and a walk with one out, and Eduardo Nunez had his chance. He hit a ball very hard, easily the hardest-hit ball of the inning, but the defense had him played perfectly. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu had him shaded up the middle, and just had to get a glove on the ball to stall the rally and seal the victory.

The Giants made their comeback attempt much earlier on Sunday, erasing a three-run deficit in the first inning to tie the game. But when the Rockies added a fourth run in the second, it was all they needed. San Francisco couldn’t tie or take the lead despite getting the leadoff runner on three times. They left runners in scoring position with less than two outs twice, sealing their fate of a 5-9 start.

Law of averages says they have to finish a comeback one of these days, right?

3 – Jarrett Parker

The injury bug struck again on Saturday, this time biting left fielder Jarrett Parker. The outfielder made a fantastic catch in the fourth inning to end the frame and save a couple runs, but slammed into the wall at full speed and broke his collarbone. He was put on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday, and it’s entirely possible he’ll hit the 60-day disabled list at some point in the near future if the team needs another position player that’s not currently on the 40-man roster.

Next: Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Back at Home

Injuries at any time are awful, but after hitting a two-run triple off the wall on Friday night (it would have easily been a home run had the wind not been howling in towards home plate), it was easy to think that maybe Parker was beginning to break out of his slump. Instead, he’ll be out at least eight to 10 weeks, with a long rehab stint in his future. Though his season isn’t over, there are absolutely no guarantees he’ll get another shot in the outfield when he’s back.

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