Crawford has 2 HRs, 8 RBIs as Giants overwhelm Rockies
DENVER >> With nearly every swing, Brandon Crawford’s day at the plate got better and better.
Crawford went 5 for 6 with two homers and tied a San Francisco team record with eight RBIs, and the Giants scored a season high in runs in a 19-2 rout of the Colorado Rockies on Monday in the first game of a split doubleheader.
“I never expect a fivehit game to come along, but yeah I have been feeling a lot better at the plate,” Crawford said. “There were a couple of at-bats in Milwaukee where I was having good at-bats, kind of battling and getting deep into counts. Even drawing walks kind of helps your confidence going forward. I’ve been feeling good, seeing the ball well. You expect to get hits when that happens.”
The rest of the Giants followed his lead.
Mike Yastrzemski went 4 for 6 with a homer and Buster Posey also went deep for San Francisco, which earned a rare victory at Coors Field in the makeup for a May 8 rainout. Crawford has eight home runs on the season.
It was just the fifth win in the Giants’ past 25 games at the Rockies’ ballpark, though San Francisco has been hot recently winning nine of its past 11.
For the Rockies, it was the most runs they have ever allowed to the Giants, an NL West rival. It marked only the fourth time in the Rockies’ history that they had lost by at least 17 runs, and the first since losing by 17 to Florida on Sept. 17, 1995.
Preserving his bullpen in the one-sided slugfest, Rockies manager Bud Black inserted first baseman Mark Reynolds to pitch the ninth. Reynolds allowed two runs and two hits. It was the third time in Rockies history that a position player had been used as a pitcher.
“You have to preserve their innings when you need to,” said Black, also alluding to the number of runs being scored at Coors Field lately as well as overall in the major leagues.
Mets’ Wheeler on injured list with shoulder fatigue
NEW YORK >> Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler has been placed on the 10-day injured list because of shoulder fatigue, which could complicate efforts by the out-ofcontention team to trade the right-hander before the July 31 deadline.
New York made the move retroactive to Friday, and Wheeler will be eligible to be activated July 22.
Wheeler last started July 7 and the Mets said Monday the injury was discovered following the All-Star break. Steven Matz will replace Wheeler for Tuesday’s series opener at Minnesota.
Wheeler is 6-6 with a 4.69 ERA in 19 starts this season, striking out 130 and walking 34 in 119 innings. The 29-year-old, 39-36 in five big league seasons, is eligible for free agency after the World Series.
New York (42-51) won two of three at Miami last weekend in a matchup of the teams with the two poorest records in the National League.
Kansas City Royals will extend protective netting at stadium
KANSAS CITY, MO. >> The Kansas City Royals are planning to extend the netting at Kauffman Stadium to better protect fans.
The decision comes after a fan was hit by a ball Sunday during the Royals’ game against the Detroit Tigers.
Spokesman Toby Cook told KSHB-TV the girl was kept at a hospital overnight for observation and was expected to be released Monday.
He said the club had commissioned a study on how to expand the netting before Sunday’s incident. The timing of extending the netting depends on engineering and design challenges. But Cook says more netting could be added before the season ends.
Following recommendations from Major League Baseball, the Royals in 2016 extended the netting from the outside edges of the dugouts and raised it behind home plate about 8 feet.