DENVER -- Carlos Gonzalez
peered through the haze caused by smoke from the western wildfires and
watched a sinker sail wide. He instantly raised his hands.
This walkoff walk felt that gratifying for an outfielder who's been in a season-long slump and for a team that's recently been struggling to collect victories.
Gonzalez drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the ninth, and the Colorado Rockies halted a four-game skid by beating the San Francisco Giants 4-3 on Monday.
"This shows that we don't have to do anything crazy to win ballgames," Gonzalez said.
It was still a little crazy for the Rockies, who increased their lead to 1 1/2 games over Milwaukee for the second NL wild-card spot.
After all, Charlie Blackmon began the ninth with a double off Steven Okert (1-1) that got caught up in the wind and left fielder Mac Williamson couldn't corral with a last-ditch sliding attempt.
Then, with one out, Nolan Arenado was intentionally walked and Gerardo Parra drew another walk to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Pat Valaika was struck out by Cory Gearrin, setting the stage for Gonzalez.
Gonzalez took a sinker away, then another pitch in the dirt and another sinker high. Gearrin's fourth pitch -- another sinker -- missed wide as Gonzalez was congratulated at first base by teammates.
"I was relaxed the whole at bat," explained Gonzalez, a career .291 hitter who's raised his average to .241 in recent weeks. "I'm really happy I got the job done."
It was the sixth walk-off walk in Rockies history and second this season. Arenado drew a game-winning walk on Aug. 3 against the New York Mets.
"Cargo knows how to rise to the occasion," Colorado outfielder/infielder Ian Desmond said. "He did -- and sometimes that's by not swinging. That's by being in control. He was."
Gearrin was simply trying to stay out of Gonzalez's power zone.
"It's just unacceptable for me to come in and not throw strikes and make that a competitive at-bat," Gearrin said. "Very frustrating for me."
Same for Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Especially that fly ball from Blackmon that started the inning.
"Okert gets the fly ball and we don't handle it," Bochy said. "That puts us in a tough position. ... Especially in this ballpark, you've got to make the plays. We didn't today."
Greg Holland (3-5) pitched a perfect ninth and turned in a play that energized the crowd. He somehow fielded a comebacker from Pablo Sandoval that knocked the closer down before he was able to throw the ball to first.
"When I heard the crowd cheer like that, I knew we were going to make that game happen," Desmond said.
Blackmon hit his 33rd homer of the season and DJ LeMahieu extended his hitting streak to 12 games as Colorado improved to 8-0 at home against the Giants this season.
Joe Panik and Denard Span each hit solo homers into the second deck in right field. Panik also tied the game at 3 with an RBI single in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: Bochy said RHP Matt Cain is away from the team for personal reasons. He's expected to rejoin the team in Chicago against the White Sox this weekend.
SOLID OUTING
Chad Bettis threw 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs in his fifth start since returning from testicular cancer. He came up big at the plate with a two-out, run-scoring single in the fourth. It was his first RBI of the season.
"He kept us in the game," manager Bud Black said.
THIS & THAT
Giants starter Chris Stratton threw 98 pitches before calling it a day after four innings. ... 3B Sandoval went 0 for 4 and is hitless in his last 33 at bats.
DESMOND AT SHORT
Desmond played at shortstop for the first time since Oct. 4, 2015. He didn't appear the least bit rusty, even fielding three straight grounders in the fourth.
Desmond was moved to first base when Trevor Story entered the game in the sixth.
"Fun to be back," he said.
UP NEXT
Giants: Denver native Ty Blach (8-11, 4.68 ERA) will throw for the Giants on Tuesday. The left-hander will be facing Colorado for a third time as a starter this season.
Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (6-12, 5.00) moves from the bullpen back into the rotation. He's 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts against San Francisco this season.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
This walkoff walk felt that gratifying for an outfielder who's been in a season-long slump and for a team that's recently been struggling to collect victories.
Gonzalez drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the ninth, and the Colorado Rockies halted a four-game skid by beating the San Francisco Giants 4-3 on Monday.
"This shows that we don't have to do anything crazy to win ballgames," Gonzalez said.
It was still a little crazy for the Rockies, who increased their lead to 1 1/2 games over Milwaukee for the second NL wild-card spot.
After all, Charlie Blackmon began the ninth with a double off Steven Okert (1-1) that got caught up in the wind and left fielder Mac Williamson couldn't corral with a last-ditch sliding attempt.
Then, with one out, Nolan Arenado was intentionally walked and Gerardo Parra drew another walk to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Pat Valaika was struck out by Cory Gearrin, setting the stage for Gonzalez.
Gonzalez took a sinker away, then another pitch in the dirt and another sinker high. Gearrin's fourth pitch -- another sinker -- missed wide as Gonzalez was congratulated at first base by teammates.
"I was relaxed the whole at bat," explained Gonzalez, a career .291 hitter who's raised his average to .241 in recent weeks. "I'm really happy I got the job done."
It was the sixth walk-off walk in Rockies history and second this season. Arenado drew a game-winning walk on Aug. 3 against the New York Mets.
"Cargo knows how to rise to the occasion," Colorado outfielder/infielder Ian Desmond said. "He did -- and sometimes that's by not swinging. That's by being in control. He was."
Gearrin was simply trying to stay out of Gonzalez's power zone.
"It's just unacceptable for me to come in and not throw strikes and make that a competitive at-bat," Gearrin said. "Very frustrating for me."
Same for Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Especially that fly ball from Blackmon that started the inning.
"Okert gets the fly ball and we don't handle it," Bochy said. "That puts us in a tough position. ... Especially in this ballpark, you've got to make the plays. We didn't today."
Greg Holland (3-5) pitched a perfect ninth and turned in a play that energized the crowd. He somehow fielded a comebacker from Pablo Sandoval that knocked the closer down before he was able to throw the ball to first.
"When I heard the crowd cheer like that, I knew we were going to make that game happen," Desmond said.
Blackmon hit his 33rd homer of the season and DJ LeMahieu extended his hitting streak to 12 games as Colorado improved to 8-0 at home against the Giants this season.
Joe Panik and Denard Span each hit solo homers into the second deck in right field. Panik also tied the game at 3 with an RBI single in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: Bochy said RHP Matt Cain is away from the team for personal reasons. He's expected to rejoin the team in Chicago against the White Sox this weekend.
SOLID OUTING
Chad Bettis threw 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs in his fifth start since returning from testicular cancer. He came up big at the plate with a two-out, run-scoring single in the fourth. It was his first RBI of the season.
"He kept us in the game," manager Bud Black said.
THIS & THAT
Giants starter Chris Stratton threw 98 pitches before calling it a day after four innings. ... 3B Sandoval went 0 for 4 and is hitless in his last 33 at bats.
DESMOND AT SHORT
Desmond played at shortstop for the first time since Oct. 4, 2015. He didn't appear the least bit rusty, even fielding three straight grounders in the fourth.
Desmond was moved to first base when Trevor Story entered the game in the sixth.
"Fun to be back," he said.
UP NEXT
Giants: Denver native Ty Blach (8-11, 4.68 ERA) will throw for the Giants on Tuesday. The left-hander will be facing Colorado for a third time as a starter this season.
Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (6-12, 5.00) moves from the bullpen back into the rotation. He's 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in three starts against San Francisco this season.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| San Francisco - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Chad Bettis pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Span grounded out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| Panik homered to right (405 feet). | 1 | 0 |
| Posey singled to right. | 1 | 0 |
| Crawford grounded into fielder's choice to second, Posey out at second. | 1 | 0 |
| Sandoval grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Chris Stratton pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Blackmon struck out looking. | 1 | 0 |
| LeMahieu lined out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Arenado singled to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Parra grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Chad Bettis pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Pence flied out to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Hundley grounded out to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Williamson popped out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Chris Stratton pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| González flied out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Desmond singled to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Lucroy walked, Desmond to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Bettis struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Chad Bettis pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Stratton struck out looking. | 1 | 0 |
| Span homered to right (394 feet). | 2 | 0 |
| Panik lined out to center. | 2 | 0 |
| Posey struck out swinging. | 2 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Chris Stratton pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Blackmon homered to right center (441 feet). | 2 | 1 |
| LeMahieu singled to right. | 2 | 1 |
| Arenado grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, LeMahieu out at second. | 2 | 1 |
| Parra walked. | 2 | 1 |
| Reynolds grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Parra out at second. | 2 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Chad Bettis pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Crawford grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| Sandoval grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| Pence grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Chris Stratton pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| González doubled to left. | 2 | 1 |
| Desmond struck out swinging. | 2 | 1 |
| Lucroy grounded out to shortstop, González to third. | 2 | 1 |
| Bettis singled to right, González scored. | 2 | 2 |
| Blackmon singled to right, Bettis to third. | 2 | 2 |
| LeMahieu singled to center, Bettis scored, Blackmon to second. | 2 | 3 |
| Arenado walked, Blackmon to third, LeMahieu to second. | 2 | 3 |
| Parra grounded out to second. | 2 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Chad Bettis pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Hundley flied out to center. | 2 | 3 |
| Williamson grounded out to third. | 2 | 3 |
| Moncrief hit for Stratton. | 2 | 3 |
| Moncrief struck out swinging. | 2 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Albert Suarez pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Suárez relieved Stratton. | 2 | 3 |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 2 | 3 |
| González walked. | 2 | 3 |
| Desmond grounded into double play, second to first, González out at second. | 2 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Chad Bettis pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Span doubled to left. | 2 | 3 |
| Panik singled to right center, Span scored. | 3 | 3 |
| Posey fouled out to right. | 3 | 3 |
| Desmond at first base. | 3 | 3 |
| Story at shortstop. | 3 | 3 |
| Rusin relieved Bettis. | 3 | 3 |
| Crawford struck out swinging. | 3 | 3 |
| Panik to second on wild pitch by Rusin. | 3 | 3 |
| Sandoval grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Albert Suarez pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Lucroy lined out to third. | 3 | 3 |
| Story struck out swinging. | 3 | 3 |
| Blackmon safe at first on error by second baseman Panik. | 3 | 3 |
| LeMahieu grounded into fielder's choice to third, Blackmon out at second. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Pat Neshek pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Neshek relieved Rusin. | 3 | 3 |
| Pence grounded out to second. | 3 | 3 |
| Hundley grounded out to second. | 3 | 3 |
| Williamson struck out looking. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Hunter Strickland pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Strickland relieved Suárez. | 3 | 3 |
| Arenado flied out to right. | 3 | 3 |
| Parra grounded out to second. | 3 | 3 |
| McMahon hit for Neshek. | 3 | 3 |
| McMahon grounded out to second. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Jake McGee pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| McGee relieved Neshek. | 3 | 3 |
| Tomlinson hit for Strickland. | 3 | 3 |
| Tomlinson lined out to center. | 3 | 3 |
| Span singled to center. | 3 | 3 |
| Panik singled to center, Span to second. | 3 | 3 |
| Posey grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Panik out at second. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Mark Melancon pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Melancon relieved Strickland. | 3 | 3 |
| González grounded out to first. | 3 | 3 |
| Desmond struck out swinging. | 3 | 3 |
| Lucroy walked. | 3 | 3 |
| Tauchman ran for Lucroy. | 3 | 3 |
| Tauchman to second on wild pitch by Melancon. | 3 | 3 |
| Story struck out looking. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Greg Holland pitching for Colorado | SF | COL |
| Wolters catching. | 3 | 3 |
| Holland relieved McGee. | 3 | 3 |
| Crawford grounded out to first. | 3 | 3 |
| Sandoval grounded out to pitcher. | 3 | 3 |
| Pence grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Steven Okert pitching for San Francisco | SF | COL |
| Okert relieved Melancon. | 3 | 3 |
| Blackmon doubled to left. | 3 | 3 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to first. | 3 | 3 |
| Arenado intentionally walked. | 3 | 3 |
| Parra walked, Blackmon to third, Arenado to second. | 3 | 3 |
| Valaika hit for Holland. | 3 | 3 |
| Jones at third base. | 3 | 3 |
| Gearrin relieved Okert. | 3 | 3 |
| Valaika struck out swinging. | 3 | 3 |
| González walked, Blackmon scored, Arenado to third, Parra to second. | 3 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Francisco Giants | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Span CF | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .267 | .320 | .418 |
| Panik 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .272 | .333 | .410 |
| Posey 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .317 | .404 | .465 |
| Crawford SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | .245 | .295 | .404 |
| Sandoval 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .196 | .250 | .268 |
Gearrin P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Pence RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .254 | .305 | .373 |
| Hundley C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .256 | .278 | .432 |
| Williamson LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .179 | .238 | .308 |
| Stratton P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-Moncrief PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .211 | .256 | .237 |
Suárez P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
b-Tomlinson PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .261 | .342 | .304 |
Melancon P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Okert P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Jones 3B
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .192 | .263 | .327 |
| Totals | 33 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 130 | |||
| a-struck out swinging for C Stratton in the 5th b-lined out to center for H Strickland in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Span (28, Bettis) HR: Panik (10, 1st inning off Bettis 0 on, 1 Out); Span (10, 3rd inning off Bettis 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: Panik 2 (45), Span (35) GIDP: Posey Giants RISP: 1-3 (Panik 1-1, Sandoval 0-1, Posey 0-1) Team LOB: 3 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Panik (8, ground ball) DP: 2 (Crawford-Panik-Posey, Panik-Posey). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Coors Field, Denver, CO |
| Attendance | 28,300 (56.2% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:15 |
| Weather | 90 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 3 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Joe West, First Base - Andy Fletcher, Second Base - Alan Porter, Third Base - Chris Segal |
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