The Rockies lost their mojo in San Francisco, where their offensive woes are as predictable as the fog.
They arrived in the City by the Bay riding a seven-game winning streak, their longest in nearly five years. But the Giants polished off a three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park with a 4-1 victory.
It was San Francisco’s first sweep of the season.
The Rockies produced a mere three hits. Their lone run came off the bat of Ryan McMahon, who hit a two-out, 377-foot homer to left-center in the first inning. McMahon ripped into right-hander Jordan Hick’s 0-1 sinker for his seventh homer.
It’s no surprise that the Rockies should stumble in San Francisco. Since 2021, they are 5-23 at Oracle Park. Also, Sunday marked San Francisco’s ninth series sweep against Colorado since 2021, the most by any team against a single opponent.
And since 2019, Colorado has won just one series at Oracle, taking two of three games June 7-9, 2022.
“During the streak, we got big hits, we got two-out hits and we kept innings going,” manager Bud Black told reporters in San Francisco. “Overall this season, hitting with runners in scoring position has been frustrating for us. Today, in the fifth and the eighth (innings), we had chances but couldn’t get the big hit. When we went on our little streak, we got that done.”
Hicks improved to 4-1 and reduced his ERA to 2.38. After McMahon’s homer, he retired 11 straight batters until the Rockies hinted at a rally in the fifth. Jake Cave hit a one-out single, and rookie Jordan Beck, who started in center field, hit a double to left. Hicks struck out Hunter Goodman for the second out but walked Jacob Stallings to pack the bases.
Up stepped veteran right fielder Charlie Blackmon, who came to the plate hitting .382 with runners in scoring position. But Blackmon popped out to short on Hick’s first-pitch fastball to short-circuit the rally.
Still, the Rockies owned a 1-0 lead, but only briefly.
Right-hander Dakota Hudson, who had pitched a fine game for four innings, issued a leadoff walk to Marco Luciano, and yes, the walk came back to haunt Hudson. Curt Casali followed with a bloop single to right, and Lamonte Wade Jr.’s one-out single to right scored Luciano, tying the game, 1-1. Matt Chapman’s infield single died in the grass and drove in Casali for a 2-1 Giants lead.
Hudson looked like he escaped the inning when he induced Luis Matos to chop the ball to McMahon at third, but McMahon let the ball go under his glove for a costly error and San Francisco’s lead grew to 3-1.
It grew to 4-1 on Heliot Ramos’ leadoff homer off Victor Vodnik in the sixth. Ramos crushed Vodnik’s 2-0 fastball 409 feet to dead center.
Hudson, now 1-7 with a 5.89 ERA, was charged with three runs (two earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out three.
“He hung in there,” Black said. “In the fifth, the leadoff 0-2 count to a walk (to Luciano) was a little bit of his undoing. … Overall, he made some pitches. But the Giants put the ball in play, and when you put the ball in play, things can happen positively for you.”
Bird needs tuneup. Struggling right-handed reliever Jake Bird was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with right elbow inflammation. The Rockies called up right-hander Matt Koch from Triple-A Albuquerque to replace Bird.
“We need to figure out what’s going on and we haven’t quite got there yet, mechanics-wise,” Black told MLB.com. “So sending (Bird) down has two different points: giving him a breather, letting him exhale a little bit, and get back to what he does best — a good sinker down in the strike zone, and a couple of different breaking balls, get them in the strike zone.”
After being an effective bullpen workhorse last season when he posted a 4.33 ERA in 70 games (89 1/3 innings), Bird has a 6.10 ERA in 19 appearances and has issued 15 walks, including five leadoff walks.
KB update. First baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant, working his way back from a strained lower back, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts Sunday in a rehab game with Triple-A Albuquerque. During his five-game rehab stint, Bryant has hit .150 (3 for 20) with one double, no homers and six strikeouts.
There is a possibility Bryant will rejoin the Rockies on Tuesday when they open a three-game series at Oakland.
Left fielder Nolan Jones could also return on Tuesday. He’s also dealing with a low back injury. He went 1 for 4 in Friday night’s game with the Isotopes and is hitting .111 (1 for 9) in three rehab games.
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