Rockies’ bullpen loses 79-inning homerless streak in falling to Giants

Rockies Report, Game 33:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: After 15 consecutive scoreless innings, Colorado’s offense finally awoke in the top of the sixth Saturday at Oracle Park, exploding for three runs — a tally greater than its full-game output in more than half (17) of its entire games so far this season — to take a 3-1 lead.

Then the Rockies promptly barfed it back — and then some.

A five-run outburst that began with a pair of walks off Bradley Blalock before blowing up after Jake Bird entered wiped out Colorado’s big inning and sent the Rox sliding to a 6-3 defeat at a sun-splashed Oracle Park on Saturday afternoon.

Bird relieved Blalock with runners on first and second and promptly committed a pitch-clock violation before walking Willy Adames in a six-pitch duel to load the bases.

Jung Hoo Lee singled home a run two pitches later; a pair of pitches after that, Bird’s sinker caught the heart of the strike zone, and Matt Chapman blasted it 402 feet over the center-field wall for the decisive grand slam.

Colorado dropped to 6-27 with the loss.

It marked the second consecutive day the Rox surrendered a home run to Chapman; he hit a solo shot Friday night, providing the final run in the Giants’ 4-0 win.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Making the start in place of Ryan Feltner — who landed on the 15-day injured list due to back spasms — Bradley Blalock found the going much better than he did when he filled in for Feltner last Sunday.

Prior to the pair of walks in the sixth, the only damage at Blalock’s expense came when Luis Matos turned on an 85-MPH slider in the third inning to put San Francisco in front 1-0.

But Blalock generally kept the basepaths clean; he allowed just two hits and the pair of sixth-inning walks. He left with no decision after 75 pitches.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Colorado generated just one baserunner in the three innings after San Francisco’s five-run sixth.


ROCKIES NUMBER TO NOTE: 79 — Innings Colorado’s bullpen had gone without allowing a home run before Chapman’s grand slam; as pointed out by the Rockies’ broadcast, this was a franchise record.

WHAT’S NEXT: Germán Márquez looks for his first win of the season in the series finale Sunday afternoon. First pitch is at 2:05 p.m. MDT.

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