Giants sink to league’s worst record
Span latest to go down as Colorado continues dominance over S.F.
DENVER — The dust cloud still hasn’t settled from Madison Bumgarner’s dirt bike accident. The Giants haven’t even weathered their first rotation turn without him.
And already, the wheels are falling off this team.
Right fielder Hunter Pence didn’t start because of a twisted left knee, center fielder Denard Span didn’t make it past the second inning because of a sprained right shoulder, and manager Bruce Bochy lit into his pitching staff after a 12-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday night.
The Giants could point to their share of hard outs. The Rockies avoided that issue by crushing three home runs in four innings off left-hander Matt Moore.
As a result, the Giants (6-12) have the worst record in the National League and must win Sunday to avoid getting swept and falling seven games back of the first-place Rockies in the N.L.West.
They will try to win despite a heavily depleted outfield that could force Bochy to turn Eduardo Nuñez or Brandon Belt into an everyday left fielder. And Jeff Samardzija will try to turn it around for a rotation that now possesses the worst ERA in the major leagues.
And that’s before Bumgarner has officially missed his first turn because of a sprained shoulder.
“We’ve got to wake up,” Bochy said. “We’re not a team that’s going to pound it with the other clubs. We’ve got to go out and pitch. We’ve got to tighten it up here.”
Moore was not equipped for a pitcher’s duel in a hitter’s paradise. Charlie Blackmon led off a three-run first inning with a triple — which counted as progress for the Giants, since he hit an inside-the-parker on Friday — and then Mark Reynolds paused briefly to admire the low-grade orbit of his two-run home run.
Trevor Story hit a solo shot, and Blackmon added a two-run homer off Moore in a three-run fourth inning.
Eventually, Moore will have to learn to adapt to Coors Field. He entered with an 11.74 ERA in two starts here and managed to raise it to 12.34.
“He just made mistakes,” Bochy said of Moore, who gave up six runs in four innings. “You saw them. He caught too much of the plate. I know this can be a tough park, but they made their pitches. Their kid (Antonio Senzatela) pitched a good game.
“You concentrate and don’t give in. That’s the way it works, and we’re not doing a very good job of it. Obviously, we’re a much better staff than what’s happened.
This is the first time since July 2007 that the Giants have owned the N.L.’s worst record beyond the first dozen games of the season.
And, remember, this is a team that struggled to a 3042 mark after the All-Star break last season, too.
Of course, it’s way too early to say the last-place Giants are dead in the N.L. West. But there’s no disputing that their outfield is a skeleton crew.
The Giants already lost left fielder Jarrett Parker for at least two months because of a broken collarbone he sustained while crashing into the padded fence at AT&T Park.
Pence didn’t start Saturday because he twisted his left knee while trying to react to an inside-thepark home run that he lost in the lights Friday night.
As a result, the Giants started three outfielders (Span, Chris Marrero, Gorkys Hernandez) who had combined to hit .150 with one home run in 113 atbats this season. And then it got worse. Span sprinted back to make a catch on Blackmon’s deep drive, which saved a run in a game the Rockies already led 3-0.
But Span’s right shoulder crashed into the wall, and he staggered back toward the infield after making the catch. He did not go back to retrieve his hat — Hernandez picked it up for him — and took a long time as he walked back to the dugout.
The Giants announced later in the game that Span had sustained a mild right shoulder sprain and would go for precautionary Xrays. Bochy said the initial read from trainers was that Span would be out a couple of days.
Bochy said he has spoken to Nuñez about transitioning to left field, which could open third base for Conor Gillaspie, Kelby Tomlinson or even Jae-gyun Hwang or Christian Arroyo.
Gillaspie pinch-hit for Span in the third and remained in the game at third base, with Nuñez moving to right field and Hernandez shifting to center.
Nuñez’s inexperience probably cost the Giants in the eighth when he didn’t call off Joe Panik on a fly ball that ticked off the second baseman’s glove for an error.
The play opened the door for five unearned runs in what became an ugly rally against right-hander Neil Ramirez.