Rookie pitcher Kyle Harrison threw seven scoreless innings, and the San Francisco Giants scored four runs in a crucial fourth inning, despite hitting only two balls out of the infield, securing a 5-0 win over Colorado on Tuesday.
Harrison, with a record of 3-1, allowed four hits, all singles, and struck out two batters. He has conceded just one run in his last 18 innings, although this was his first win during that period. Despite walking two batters, he managed to throw only 86 pitches.
“Kyle did a great job of throwing strikes and getting early contact,” commented Giants manager Bob Melvin. “It was fantastic.”
“When you’re pitching here for the first time, there are uncertainties. Will your breaking ball work as usual? Will you tire out quickly? But Kyle seemed unfazed by all of that.”
The Giants, who broke a four-game losing streak, ended an 11-game stretch where they failed to score more than four runs in a game. This win came after a post-game meeting held by Melvin following a 6-1 loss to Philadelphia.
“The timing of the meeting was perfect,” said Nick Ahmed, who recorded two hits. “Our performance in Philly wasn’t good. We were disappointed. Philly is a tough team, but we didn’t play our best baseball. If we focus on doing the basics right, we might not win every game, but we’ll improve our chances.”
LaMonte Wade Jr. sealed the Giants’ four-run fourth inning with a two-run single and walked three times, boosting his on-base percentage to .485.
The Rockies only had two players reach second base and have now lost three games in a row and eight of their last nine, dropping to 8-27 and extending their worst start in franchise history.
Jung Hoo Lee extended his hitting streak to five games with his first-ever three-hit game, with only one hit leaving the infield. Harrison becomes the sixth Giants starter to pitch at least seven shutout innings at Coors Field, the first since Barry Zito on April 9, 2012.
“I felt really good out there,” said Harrison. “My pitches were working well. When you only have two strikeouts, it shows the defense behind you did a great job. They made some excellent plays.”
Jacob Stallings walked and Elehuris Montero singled with two outs in the second inning against Harrison, who then got out of the inning with a groundout and retired 10 of the next 11 batters.
“We couldn’t hit his fastball,” said Colorado manager Bud Black, “and he mixed in enough changeups and sliders in certain situations and got us out. He pitched a good game. He didn’t just throw, he pitched.” Ahmed contributed with two hits and an RBI, increasing his career batting average at Coors Field to .335.
