DENVER -- In between starts, the message to Kyle Freeland was rather low-key.
As in, low was the key.
Freeland kept the ball down while pitching seven sharp innings, Gerardo Parra hit a two-run homer and the Colorado Rockies beat San Francisco 8-0 on Sunday for their first three-game sweep of the Giants at Coors Field since 2002.
Freeland (2-1) mixed a wicked sinker with a two-seam fastball to get 12 groundouts and three strikeouts. The Denver native allowed six hits and shattered three bats on a day when the Giants changed their lineup to try to break out of a hitting funk. It didn't work as they lost for the sixth time in seven games.
"Moving forward, that should be a big part of Kyle's game -- the ground ball," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "He did a great job."
Colorado leads the NL West with a 13-6 mark. It's tied for the second-best start in franchise history.
Then again, the Rockies have gotten off to hot starts before, only to drop off in late May or early June.
"I don't gauge that as much as some people might," Black said. "This is a different group."
The struggles keep going for the Giants, who fell to 6-13. It's their worst start since 1983.
"There's nothing clicking," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I am not saying we're not good, we are good, but we have to find a way come out of this by all of us stepping it up."
Jeff Samardzija (0-4) remains winless after going 5 1/3 innings and surrendering seven runs. That's the most runs he has allowed since Sept. 15, 2015, when he gave up 10 against Oakland when he was with the Chicago White Sox.
No time to panic, though.
"We just need to go out there and play a little smarter, play a little cleaner and get back to Giants baseball, which is why we have been so successful," Samardzija said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: OF Denard Span remains day to day after leaving the game Saturday with a sprained right shoulder. He crashed into the wall while making a catch. ... OF Mac Williamson (strained left quad) went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.
Rockies: First baseman Ian Desmond (broken left hand) is hitting off a tee and taking some soft-toss swings.... RHP Jon Gray (stress fracture in his left foot) is expected to have a second X-ray within the next week.
TRIPLE WHAMMY
Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon led off with a triple for the second straight game. The last major league player to do that was Jose Reyes in 2012, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Two other Rockies have led off with a triple in two straight games -- Neifi Perez in 1999 and Eric Young in 1993.
Blackmon also had a two-run double in the sixth.
"The old adage, `Hit it where it's pitched' -- that's sort of Charlie," Black said.
PERFECT PITCH
Leading 3-0 in the sixth, Freeland appeared to have a 1-2-3 inning when Mark Reynolds dove for a hard grounder, got up and dove to first to beat Hunter Pence to the bag. After a review, the call was overturned. Buster Posey followed with a single before Freeland struck out Brandon Crawford on a full-count slider to end the threat.
"That was a good pitch -- a strike-to-ball start on that," the rookie left-hander said. "We knew he was looking out there."
The Rockies then broke open the game with a five-run sixth inning.
THIS & THAT
The Rockies are 6-1 against San Francisco this season. ... Catcher Nick Hundley had a double in the seventh against his former team. It was San Francisco's only extra-base hit. ... Parra's homer in the fourth was his second of the season.
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Matt Cain (1-0, 3.31 ERA) takes the mound Monday as the Giants open a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cain hasn't beaten the Dodgers since May 5, 2013.
Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (1-3, 7.32 ERA) faces Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals in the opener of a four-game set on Monday.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
San Francisco Giants
As in, low was the key.
Freeland kept the ball down while pitching seven sharp innings, Gerardo Parra hit a two-run homer and the Colorado Rockies beat San Francisco 8-0 on Sunday for their first three-game sweep of the Giants at Coors Field since 2002.
Freeland (2-1) mixed a wicked sinker with a two-seam fastball to get 12 groundouts and three strikeouts. The Denver native allowed six hits and shattered three bats on a day when the Giants changed their lineup to try to break out of a hitting funk. It didn't work as they lost for the sixth time in seven games.
"Moving forward, that should be a big part of Kyle's game -- the ground ball," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "He did a great job."
Colorado leads the NL West with a 13-6 mark. It's tied for the second-best start in franchise history.
Then again, the Rockies have gotten off to hot starts before, only to drop off in late May or early June.
"I don't gauge that as much as some people might," Black said. "This is a different group."
The struggles keep going for the Giants, who fell to 6-13. It's their worst start since 1983.
"There's nothing clicking," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I am not saying we're not good, we are good, but we have to find a way come out of this by all of us stepping it up."
Jeff Samardzija (0-4) remains winless after going 5 1/3 innings and surrendering seven runs. That's the most runs he has allowed since Sept. 15, 2015, when he gave up 10 against Oakland when he was with the Chicago White Sox.
No time to panic, though.
"We just need to go out there and play a little smarter, play a little cleaner and get back to Giants baseball, which is why we have been so successful," Samardzija said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: OF Denard Span remains day to day after leaving the game Saturday with a sprained right shoulder. He crashed into the wall while making a catch. ... OF Mac Williamson (strained left quad) went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday.
Rockies: First baseman Ian Desmond (broken left hand) is hitting off a tee and taking some soft-toss swings.... RHP Jon Gray (stress fracture in his left foot) is expected to have a second X-ray within the next week.
TRIPLE WHAMMY
Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon led off with a triple for the second straight game. The last major league player to do that was Jose Reyes in 2012, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Two other Rockies have led off with a triple in two straight games -- Neifi Perez in 1999 and Eric Young in 1993.
Blackmon also had a two-run double in the sixth.
"The old adage, `Hit it where it's pitched' -- that's sort of Charlie," Black said.
PERFECT PITCH
Leading 3-0 in the sixth, Freeland appeared to have a 1-2-3 inning when Mark Reynolds dove for a hard grounder, got up and dove to first to beat Hunter Pence to the bag. After a review, the call was overturned. Buster Posey followed with a single before Freeland struck out Brandon Crawford on a full-count slider to end the threat.
"That was a good pitch -- a strike-to-ball start on that," the rookie left-hander said. "We knew he was looking out there."
The Rockies then broke open the game with a five-run sixth inning.
THIS & THAT
The Rockies are 6-1 against San Francisco this season. ... Catcher Nick Hundley had a double in the seventh against his former team. It was San Francisco's only extra-base hit. ... Parra's homer in the fourth was his second of the season.
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Matt Cain (1-0, 3.31 ERA) takes the mound Monday as the Giants open a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Cain hasn't beaten the Dodgers since May 5, 2013.
Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (1-3, 7.32 ERA) faces Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals in the opener of a four-game set on Monday.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
3:10PM,EDT,April 23,2017
Coors Field, Denver,Colorado
Coors Field, Denver,Colorado
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| San Francisco - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Núñez grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Belt struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Pence grounded out to second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jeff Samardzija pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Blackmon tripled to deep right center. | 0 | 0 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Arenado hit sacrifice fly to left, Blackmon scored. | 0 | 1 |
| González reached on infield single to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Posey flied out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Crawford grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Hundley grounded out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jeff Samardzija pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Parra grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| Story lined out to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Wolters grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Panik lined out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| Hernández grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 1 |
| Samardzija grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jeff Samardzija pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Freeland grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 1 |
| Blackmon walked. | 0 | 1 |
| Blackmon caught stealing second, catcher to second. | 0 | 1 |
| LeMahieu struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Núñez grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 1 |
| Belt grounded out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Pence singled to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Posey grounded out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jeff Samardzija pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Arenado struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| González walked. | 0 | 1 |
| Reynolds lined out to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Parra homered to right (389 feet), González scored. | 0 | 3 |
| Story popped out to second. | 0 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Crawford flied out to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Hundley grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 3 |
| Panik singled to left. | 0 | 3 |
| Hernández singled to center, Panik to third. | 0 | 3 |
| Samardzija grounded out to second. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jeff Samardzija pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Wolters flied out to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Freeland singled to center. | 0 | 3 |
| Blackmon struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| LeMahieu struck out looking. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Núñez lined out to right. | 0 | 3 |
| Belt struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| Pence grounded out to first. | 0 | 3 |
| Posey singled to center, Pence to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Crawford struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jeff Samardzija pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Arenado reached on infield single to second. | 0 | 3 |
| González walked, Arenado to second. | 0 | 3 |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 0 | 3 |
| Parra doubled to center, Arenado scored, González to third. | 0 | 4 |
| Story singled to right, González and Parra scored. | 0 | 6 |
| Okert relieved Samardzija. | 0 | 6 |
| Wolters hit by pitch, Story to second. | 0 | 6 |
| Freeland sacrificed to catcher, Story to third, Wolters to second. | 0 | 6 |
| Blackmon doubled to left, Story and Wolters scored. | 0 | 8 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 8 |
| 5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Hundley doubled to deep right. | 0 | 8 |
| Panik lined out to center, Hundley to third. | 0 | 8 |
| Hernández walked. | 0 | 8 |
| Marrero hit for Okert. | 0 | 8 |
| Marrero popped out to second. | 0 | 8 |
| Núñez flied out to right. | 0 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Derek Law pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Belt in right field. | 0 | 8 |
| Law relieved Okert. | 0 | 8 |
| Marrero in left field. | 0 | 8 |
| Arenado grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 8 |
| González grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 8 |
| Reynolds grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Scott Oberg pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Oberg relieved Freeland. | 0 | 8 |
| Belt walked. | 0 | 8 |
| Gillaspie hit for Law. | 0 | 8 |
| Gillaspie grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Belt out at second. | 0 | 8 |
| Posey grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Hunter Strickland pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Gillaspie at first base. | 0 | 8 |
| Strickland relieved Law. | 0 | 8 |
| Parra flied out to left. | 0 | 8 |
| Story fouled out to first. | 0 | 8 |
| Wolters lined out to right. | 0 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Chris Rusin pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Rusin relieved Oberg. | 0 | 8 |
| Crawford grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 8 |
| Hundley grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 8 |
| Panik walked. | 0 | 8 |
| Hernández flied out to right. | 0 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
San Francisco Giants
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Núñez 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | .279 | .306 | .324 |
| Belt LF-RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13 | .243 | .354 | .514 |
| Pence RF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .304 | .372 | .406 |
Law P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
b-Gillaspie PH-1B
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .238 | .167 |
| Posey 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | .326 | .408 | .442 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
| Crawford SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .250 | .274 | .426 |
| Hundley C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .256 | .250 | .436 |
| Panik 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .333 | .406 | .483 |
| Hernández CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | .108 | .195 | .135 |
| Samardzija P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Okert P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-Marrero PH-LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .132 | .171 | .211 |
| Totals | 32 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 115 | |||
| a-popped out to second for S Okert in the 7th b-grounded to shortstop for D Law in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Hundley (7, Freeland) GIDP: Gillaspie Giants RISP: 0-5 (Núñez 0-1, Marrero 0-1, Panik 0-1, Samardzija 0-1, Crawford 0-1) Team LOB: 8 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Hernández (1, bobble) | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Coors Field, Denver, CO |
| Attendance | 42,011 (83.4% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:46 |
| Weather | 70 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 6 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Clint Fagan, First Base - Gerry Davis, Second Base - Pat Hoberg, Third Base - Rob Drake |
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