SF Giants can’t hold late late, waste four homers – two by Devers

DENVER — The Giants’ loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon didn’t stem from a lack of offense.

Rafael Devers hit two homers, the latter being a 463-foot shot that landed in the upper deck. Drew Gilbert logged four hits and fell a triple shy of the cycle. Casey Schmitt blasted a solo homer, too. All told, they scored six runs. Entering play, they were 21-2 when they hit that mark.

As is often the case at Coors Field, six runs weren’t enough to secure a win.

San Francisco dropped the rubber match of its three-game series against Colorado, losing 7-6 as reliever Dylan Smith allowed a go-ahead, 471-foot, three-run homer to the Rockies’ Kyle Karros in the bottom of the eighth.

You kind of feel like six (runs) will get it done kind of like yesterday if we can really pitch it and play defense,” said manager Tony Vitello, whose team led 6-4 with six outs to go.

The Giants (37-52) finish their six-game road trip against the Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks with a 2-4 record, dropping two of three to both division rivals. With the All-Star break approaching, San Francisco, Colorado and the New York Mets are tied for the fewest wins in the National League.

“Guys competed. We had some things to celebrate with the All-Star thing,” Vitello said, referring to second baseman Luis Arraez and ace Logan Webb being named to the National League squad on Saturday night. “Guys have spoken up and said good words, but ultimately, that scoreboard dictates a lot in your life when you’re doing this.”

Schmitt, whose home run — a solo shot in the fifth that tied thee score at 5-5 — was his 17th of the season, played most of this trip with a heavy heart following the death of his grandmother.

“I’ve just been battling some stuff off the field with the passing of my grandma,” Schmitt said. “Just trying to stay focused.”

Devers now has 18 home runs this season and recorded a hit in every game on the trip, going 8 for 19 with four home runs and four RBIs over the six games. He and Schmitt became the first pair of Giants to hit at least 17 home runs before the team’s 90th game of the season since Barry Bonds (30) and Jeff Kent (23) in 2000.

“I think (he’s) just really dialed into every pitch,” Vitello said. “It looks like he sees every pitch well even on the foul balls or the takes. It looks like he’s in a really good spot to hit at all times. He’s being aggressive. He always cuts it loose, but he looks like he’s really under control and seeing it well.”

Of Devers’ blast, a solo shot that gave the Giants a 5-4 lead, Schmitt said, “That’s probably the farthest ball I’ve ever seen hit.”

This loss marked the first time since Sept. 5, 2023, that the Giants lost a game in which they hit at least four home runs.

The Rockies took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, one of those runs scoring due to an errant pickoff attempt by starting pitcher Tyler Mahle to first base despite a runner being on third. San Francisco’s deficit didn’t last long as Gilbert tied up the game with a two-run homer, his fourth home run of the season.

Colorado re-established a 4-2 lead with a run in the second and another in the third, but the Giants responded with a barrage of homers. Devers brought the Giants within one with his first homer of the afternoon in the fourth, then San Francisco took the lead in the fifth on a pair of solo homers by Schmitt and Devers.

The Giants extended their lead to 6-4 in the top of the sixth with an RBI single from Gilbert, a lead they held until Karros’ go-ahead blast in the eighth.

Mahle had another subpar start, allowing four runs (three earned) over 4 1/3 innings on eight hits with five strikeouts. Through 14 starts, Mahle has a 5.70 ERA.

Up next

The Giants will return to Oracle Park for a three-game series against the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays that begins Monday night. Landen Roupp, Tyler McDonald and Logan Webb are scheduled to pitch. Former Giant Kevin Gausman is slated to pitch for Toronto.