DENVER — It took until the last game of the series at Coors Field this weekend before a lead changed hands, almost unheard of in the mile-high ballpark that practically births chaos.
In the end, it didn’t go in the Giants’ favor.
Kyle Karros jacked a mammoth three-run homer in the eighth inning that flipped a two-run Giants advantage into a 7-6 defeat, sending them to their second series loss in as many tries against the lowly Rockies, one of two National League teams below them in the standings.
The go-ahead blast landed 471 feet away, at the very top of the left field bleachers, and marked only the first time Colorado scored against the Giants’ bullpen over the final two games of the series.
It came against Dylan Smith, the seventh reliever summoned the past two days by manager Tony Vitello and the first who wasn’t able to get the job done.
Smith struck out the Rockies’ biggest threat, Hunter Goodman, to begin the eighth and got two strikes on the next batter, T.J. Rumfield. But the rookie went the opposite way to sneak a double down the left field line, and nothing went right from then on.
Smith hit Troy Johnston with his next pitch and fell behind 3-1 to Karros. He attacked him high and inside, and Karros was waiting for it.
Before Smith, the Giants’ bullpen had limited the Rockies to just one run over seven innings the past two games. But the dam burst, souring the flight back to San Francisco.
Rafael Devers homered twice, including the second longest of his career, to take the team lead with 18, Casey Schmitt kept pace with his 17th of the season and Drew Gilbert matched a career high with four hits, finishing a triple away from the cycle.
But it was all for naught once things went south in the bottom of the eighth.
Vitello didn’t like the way Gilbert handled himself the last time he was in the Giants’ starting lineup, four games ago, in Wednesday’s loss to the Diamondbacks.
The manager thought his former star at the University of Tennessee allowed his pop-out in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss the night before to affect his play the following day.
So, he sat him down.
“This is a game of many, many reps,” Vitello said. “The best guys can separate them and be ready for the next pitch.”
In his return to the starting lineup Sunday, Gilbert made a statement. He was ready for the next pitch. He sent the fourth one he saw soaring into the bullpen beyond right field.
He didn’t stop there, finishing 4-for-4 in the second four-hit game of his career.
The power show from Devers and Schmitt made them the first pair of Giants teammates with at least 17 home runs in their first 90 games since Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent in 2000.
What it means
The Giants lost for the 10th time in Tyler Mahle’s 14 starts.
While it was Smith who took the loss, Mahle didn’t do them any favors by failing to complete five innings for the second straight start and surrendering four runs on eight hits.
Who’s hot
How about Gilbert, at least any time he faces the Rockies.
In 97 career games against any other team, he has 49 hits in 248 at-bats (a .197 average), with only 17 going for extra-bases, resulting in .513 OPS.
In 12 games against Colorado, Gilbert is batting .480 (12-for-25) with seven extra-base hits, including four of his seven career home runs — a 1.656 OPS.
Vitello left him in against left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino in the sixth, too, and Gilbert ripped a two-strike fastball up the middle for his first hit in 24 tries this season without the platoon advantage. It was his third career hit in 42 at-bats against left-handed pitching.
Who’s not
Mahle’s outing couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start.
He was called for a pitch-clock violation before he had thrown a pitch, putting him in a 1-0 hole against Jake McCarthy, and the speedy outfielder laced a triple on the first pitch he saw.
It mirrored the way his last start began, serving up a home run to the leadoff man, and the rest played out in about the same underwhelming fashion.
Since tossing 5 ⅔ shutout innings in his return to the rotation, Mahle hasn’t made it through the fifth in either of his ensuing starts. He has surrendered eight runs (seven earned) over 8 ⅔ innings between the two starts, raising his season ERA to 5.70.
Mahle was solely responsible for the one unearned run on his line, too, making a questionable decision to attempt a pick off at first base with two strikes, two outs and a runner at third. He airmailed the throw past Devers, allowing the second run of the first inning to score.
Up next
The Giants return home and continue a stretch of 13 straight games leading into the All-Star break. They host Tyler Rogers and the Blue Jays for three games beginning Monday, which will feature another familiar face on the mound: Kevin Gausman (4-7, 4.19).
Landen Roupp (5-8, 4.55) gets the ball for San Francisco in the series opener. First pitch: 6:45 Pacific.
