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Reporting from ORACLE PARK
Behind a trio of homers and a strong showing from rookie right-hander Keaton Winn, the San Francisco Giants swept the Colorado Rockies with a 6-3 victory on Sunday night at Oracle Park.
The Giants (73-70) are 12-21 since Aug. 5, though they’ve somehow kept themselves in the hunt for third in the National League Wild Card race. Thairo Estrada, Mitch Haniger and Joc Pederson each helped the cause by launching homers to lead the club to a much-needed sweep against an underwhelming Rockies (51-91) team.
This story will be updated with quotes and post-game material from the Giants clubhouse at Oracle Park.
San Francisco has won 16 of their last 17 contests against the Rockies, dating back to Aug. 21, 2021. Sunday’s win marks the third straight year the Giants have swept them multiple times a season.
Estrada’s 12th homer of the season came in his second at-bat – he tripled to left-center in the first – off Colorado righty Peter Lambert. It was his second long-ball in as many days as the second baseman has begun showing signs of his first-half production.
On Saturday night, Estrada became the first Giant to steal 20 stolen bases in the 2023 campaign, joining Omar Vizquel as the last player to have 20 steals in consecutive seasons. Refinding his power stroke to add to his above-average speed and defense at second base is key to Estrada serving in a key role down the stretch run.
The offense wasn’t finished. In the same inning, Haniger roped his second homer of the series, a two-run shot over the left field wall to break the 3-3 tie.
For the Giants to be any type of a factor moving forward, it’s essential for Haniger to be an important part of their offense. Entering into the game, he’s been stuck in a 3-for-23 hole since being activated off the injured list.
To top it off, Pederson added an insurance run on the board with a deep drive to right that settled into the first few rows of the right field arcade for a homer of his own – No. 13 on the season – to make it a 6-3 game. In his last 19 games, Pederson has gone 18-for-56 with four doubles, a triple, two homers, nine runs batted in and eight walks.
Giants starter Winn looked as if his outing might’ve been finished before it really began. After a shutdown first inning, the rookie endured a scary moment in the second when Colorado first baseman Elehuris Montero smoked a 108.4 mph comebacker off Winn’s left kneecap. The impact immediately sent Winn to the turf and sent the trainers to the mound.
Winn took some inventory and fired a few warm-up pitches before keeping himself in the game, likely saving the Giants bullpen from entering mayhem mode for the night – the upcoming series, too. Of course, the very next pitch Winn threw was a bunt single from Nolan Jones to set up an eventual two-run triple off the bat of Hunter Goodman to give the Rockies an early lead.
The right-hander settled in without showing any signs of uncomfortability from his knee, finishing the night with three earned runs and five hits allowed and nine strikeouts in six innings of work. He lowered his earned run average on the seasons to 3.58. Winn threw 57% splitters and generated 26 swings with an astonishing 18 misses.
Up Next
The Giants welcome the Cleveland Guardians to Oracle Park to begin a three-game series starting on Monday. Righty Gavin Williams (2-5, 3.34 ERA) will receive the start for Cleveland with the Giants yet to announce a starter for the game.
Notes
After taking some vertigo medication, Austin Slater (dizziness) was feeling better after seeing a specialist on Saturday. He was available to come off the bench on Sunday. … Slater took batting practice before the game, along with Michael Conforto, who is expected to be activated off the injured list during the upcoming season against Cleveland. Conforto has been out since Aug. 25 with a left hamstring strain. … Patrick Bailey (concussion) played catch and is anticipating a return to the lineup on Wednesday. … Marco Luciano played seven innings in the Arizona Instructional League on Saturday and is expected to join Triple-A Sacramento to continue his rehab from a hamstring strain.
