It didn’t seem to matter much who was pitching against DJ LeMahieu. After striking out in his first at-bat Authentic Dalton Schultz Jersey , the Rockies leadoff hitter was as locked in as he’s been all season.
Especially in the ninth inning when Colorado trailed.
LeMahieu hit a two-run homer in the ninth and set a career best with five RBIs as the Rockies rallied past the San Francisco Giants 9-8 on Thursday to snap a four-game losing streak.
”It was a good one to win,” LeMahieu said. ”I feel like we’ve been on the other end of that for the last couple of weeks so it was good to win that one late.”
Nolan Arenado hit his 19th home run, tying him for the National League lead with Washington’s Bryce Harper. Trevor Story added three hits for Colorado, which had lost four straight at San Francisco.
The Rockies blew leads of 5-2 and 7-5 and were down 8-7 before scoring twice off closer Sam Dyson (2-2) to avoid a series sweep.
Chris Iannetta hit a leadoff single in the ninth and was replaced by pinch-runner Pat Valaika. After pinch-hitter Tom Murphy popped out, LeMahieu sent a full-count pitch from Dyson into the left-field stands.
Two nights earlier, Dyson got LeMahieu to ground into a game-ending double play with the tying run on base.
”It was roughly where we wanted,” Dyson said. ”I figured we’d go (inside) like we did two nights ago. Just didn’t get it far enough in there.”
It was a big hit for a ballclub that had been 0-37 when trailing going into the ninth.
”That was a big swing when the momentum shifted back to them in a big way,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. ”It takes a special moment and a special swing to get it back on our side and DJ put a great swing on that ball. It was awesome.”
LeMahieu had an RBI single as part of Colorado’s four-run fourth. His two-run single off Ty Blach in the seventh gave the Rockies a 7-5 lead.
Each of LeMahieu’s hits came off different pitchers.
”He knows the opposition, he knows pitchers Shaquem Griffin Color Rush Jersey ,” Black said. ”He’s as prepared as any player I’ve been around.”
Adam Ottavino (4-1) gave up two runs but retired three batters to win. Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
All three games in the series were decided by one run.
Brandon Belt hit a two-run homer, Joe Panik had two hits and two RBIs while Pablo Sandoval and Andrew McCutchen also had two hits for San Francisco.
The Giants trailed most of the afternoon but took an 8-7 lead in the eighth when Alen Hanson doubled in two runs.
”That was a hard fought game,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. ”Tough one when you have a lead in the ninth and we couldn’t hold on to it. Sam was just a little bit off.”
Arenado homered off starter Chris Stratton in the first, his 10th this season in the opening frame.
It was also Arenado’s 10th career home run at AT&T Park, tying former Rockies infielder Troy Tulowitzki for second-most among visiting players. Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt has 11.
Neither starter factored in the decision and had nearly identical lines.
Stratton allowed five runs on eight hits in four innings. Colorado’s Jon Gray also gave up five runs in four innings but yielded seven hits with seven strikeouts.
BACK TO BACK
Giants catcher Nick Hundley threw out a pair of runners trying to steal second base in consecutive at-bats in the eighth. Story hit a leadoff single but was thrown out. Gerardo Parra then reached on an error but was quickly erased when he tried to take second
GOLDEN COMPANY
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a noted Dodgers fan, attended the game and sat next to the Giants dugout, at one point reaching over to shake hands with Bochy.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: C Buster Posey was held out of the starting lineup due to the pitching matchup but had a pinch-hit single in the eighth.
UP NEXT
Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (4-3, 4.62 ERA) faces the Dodgers in the opener of a three-game series in Los Angeles on Friday. Anderson is unbeaten in nine road starts this season.
Giants: LHP Andrew Suarez (2-4 Authentic Carl Gunnarsson Jersey , 4.43) takes the hill against the Diamondbacks on Friday.
The NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year has joined a two-time Super Bowl champion to rally support for clean water, a cause dear to both University of Virginia alumni.
Milwaukee Bucks player Malcolm Brogdon announced Thursday that he’ll be the first NBA ambassador for Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long’s Waterboys Initiative, which installs deep-borehole wells in east Africa.
A University of Virginia release says Long reached his initial goal of building 32 wells, at $45,000 each, the same week the Eagles won the Super Bowl last month.
At Virginia, Brogdon partnered with a nonprofit focused on affordable ceramic water filters in South Africa.
The Hoos’ generosity extends beyond water: Long donated his entire 2017 season salary to charities, and Brogdon had the money budgeted for his Rookie of the Year campaign donated.
