ROCKIES BEAT GIANTS 5-4 BUT DAHL INJURES LEG
There was much to like about the Rockies’ come-from-behind, 5-4 victory over the Giants Friday night at Coors Field.
For one thing, the club put its miserable July in the rearview mirror, at least for one night. For another, newly anointed closer Scott Oberg dealt with some traffic but induced a double play grounder in the ninth to notch his fourth save of the season.
Outside of one bad pitch that was hammered for a 472-foot home run, rookie starter Peter Lambert took another step forward in his development.
Finally, Ian Desmond, who’s been wielding a hot bat of late, ripped an RBI double to chase home Charlie Blackmon in the seventh to give Colorado a 5-4 lead.
But all of that good was tempered by a scary injury to all-star outfielder David Dahl. He sprained his right ankle in center field in the sixth inning. He was clearly in a great amount of pain and was taken off the field on a cart.
After the game, manager Bud Black said Dahl will undergo tests on Saturday, adding that there is a strong possibility that Dahl will go on the 10-day injured list.
Dahl was tracking down Scooter Gennett’s line drive to center when he caught his right foot on the grass as he made an adjustment on the catch. Dahl made the catch but it was quickly apparent that he was injured.
Lambert flashed the potential that has Rockies bullish on his future. He held the Giants to one run through four innings, allowing only one hit and two walks.
“I thought Peter threw the ball really well tonight,” Black said. “A lot of really good pitches.”
But the Giants blew Lambert up
with a three-run fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead. San Francisco’s explosion included an RBI triple off Austin Slater that took a wicked carom of the right-field wall, skipping past Blackmon and back toward the infield. Then came a mammoth two-run homer off the third-deck facade above right field by Mike Yastrzemski — the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. His 472-foot blast was still going up when the ball hit the facade.
“I think (catcher Tony Wolters) and I had a good game plan going in, just trying to move the ball around and command all parts of the zone,” Lambert said. “That pitch Yastrzemski I would obviously like back. I was trying to raise the ladder with it, but I left it right over the heart of the plate.”
Colorado tied the game, 4-4, in the sixth on a two-run home run to center by Ryan McMahon off reliever Sam Selman.
“I’ve just sticking within my zone, not trying to deal with pitches low and away or up and in,” McMahon said. “I’m trying to wait out my pitches and then not miss it.”
Colorado got on the board in the second inning on a single by McMahon and a run-scoring single by Wolters. The lead grew to 2-0 on Trevor Story’s team-leading 23rd homer.