San Francisco Giants 3 Up, 3 Down: First Series in Colorado

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DENVER, CO – MAY 28: Andrew Suarez #59 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning of game at Coors Field on May 28, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

3 DOWN

1 – The Defense

The Rockies are a good team. Coors Field is a great hitter’s park. Giving a good team extra outs in a great hitter’s park is generally a bad idea. The Giants found that out the hard way. Kelby Tomlinson committed four errors in the first two games of the series, one of which led to another error. Three of those errors came on Tuesday, and one of those errors came with two outs in the fourth inning and led to three unearned runs scoring. Ouch.

2 – Starting Pitching

Giants’ starters continually put the team in a hole at Coors Field. They allowed multiple runs in the first inning of all three games, making five games in a row (dating back to the Chicago Cubs’ series).

Andrew Suarez gave up a three-spot on Monday before settling in and giving the team five much-needed innings. Jeff Samardzija kept the Rockies to two runs in the first inning, but didn’t throw another pitch after that (more on that in a bit). Derek Holland gave up the customary Nolan Arenado three-run, soul-crushing home run, but settled in like Suarez did and held his own for five innings, even getting a win after the offense woke up.

It’s been like this all season, and while getting Bumgarner back will be a big boost, there will still be four other spots in the rotation that need to step up. Holland was the team’s best starter during the month of May, but that was a very low bar to cross. Guys like Stratton and Suarez need to up their game to keep this team in the race.

3 – Injuries

The Giants’ pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries this season, so Tuesday was just another punch in the gut. Samardzija left after one inning because of tightness in his shoulder that has plagued him all season. He was replaced by rookie Dereck Rodriguez, who was quite impressive in his big league debut, but had to be pulled after 3.1 innings when a 108-mph comebacker nailed him on the shin.

Next: Giants Need Bumgarner Now

A bunch of injured players will be back soon, but it certainly feels like the Giants are destined to never have their team at full strength.

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