San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: Welcome to Coors Field
The San Francisco Giants couldn’t come away with any of the three games against the Rockies, so let’s look at some positives and negatives from the series.
For the start of the new season, this is something I will do after each San Francisco Giants’ series. These articles will take three positive things (3 Up) and three negative things (3 Down) from the games, this time from the Giants’ first series in Denver against the Colorado Rockies.
3 UP
1 – Joe Panik
In an otherwise forgettable month, the Giants’ second baseman has consistently been one of the team’s biggest bright spots. He’s shown no lingering effects of the concussion that derailed his 2016 season. Instead, he looks like the 2014 and 2015 version of Panik that established himself as one of the game’s best young hitters.
Panik kept hitting at Coors Field even as teammates around him didn’t, collecting hits in all three games. He picked up five hits in 10 at-bats and drove in three runs, including hitting his first home run of the season during Saturday’s loss. He also drew a pair of walks and didn’t strike out. His slash-line for the season is up to a quite stout .333/.406/.483, while his strikeout rate is down to 10.1 percent.
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His defense is also still as good as it has ever looked, as he made more than one fantastic play with the glove during the three-game set. There hasn’t been a whole lot to cheer for yet this season, but Panik is standing out as an impact player again.
2 – Brandon Belt Still Loves Coors Field
Brandon Belt entered the series with a career .352/.407/.664 slash-line in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field, and he was back at it again. He hit his fourth home run of the season on Friday as one of his two hits, and added a pair of doubles, one of which scored a run, on Saturday.
Belt extended his team lead in home runs, and is back in front with nine RBI. Only Nick Hundley has more doubles than Belt’s five.
3 – Some Guys Didn’t Get Hurt!
A lot of guys have gotten hurt, but some didn’t! Panik didn’t and Belt didn’t, and it was a really bad series and there aren’t many positives to take away.