(Associated Press Photo)
SAN FRANCISCO — Back-to-back wins over the slumping Colorado Rockies won’t get the San Francisco Giants back into contention in the NL West.
It did, however lighten the mood in manager Bruce Bochy’s clubhouse, and that’s a good thing considering how things have gone over the past month.
Denard Span singled home Gorkys Hernandez with two outs in the 14th inning, lifting San Francisco over Colorado 4-3 on Tuesday night.
“The fight’s there,” Bochy said. “It’s nice to see them get rewarded for kind of fighting all the way through. That’s the way it’s got to be every game really, and it’s been that way.”
The Giants went cold after Kelby Tomlinson’s tying single in the eighth inning before rallying to win off Chad Qualls (1-1) in a game that ended at 11:59 p.m.
Hernandez lined a one-out double over the head of left fielder Ian Desmond. After Qualls struck out Gearrin, Span hit a 1-0 pitch into right field, and Hernandez scored easily with a head-first slide.
The Giants raced out of the dugout and chased Span into the outfield, celebrating their second straight win over Colorado after nine consecutive losses to their NL West rival.
“It feels pretty good, it’s something we haven’t done in a while,” Span said. “I know (Qualls) always had a heavy sinker, so when he started me off with a changeup that kind of threw me off. But I knew eventually I’d get a fastball.”
Gearrin (2-2) pitched three scoreless innings to win after the Giants rallied from a 3-1 deficit.
Span had three hits and two RBIs, and Hernandez and Brandon Belt each had two hits.
Mark Reynolds hit his 19th home run for the Rockies. Colorado had runners on base in each of the final five innings, including three on second base, but failed to score.
“It seemed like we were getting a bunch of breaks early and a couple of weeks ago,” Reynolds said. “Now everything seems to be going the other way. We need to have a game where we hit good and pitch good at the same time.”
EXTRA-INNING SUCCESS
As bad as the Giants have been this season, they’ve actually fared better than most when going past nine innings. They beat Cincinnati in 17 innings earlier this season and are 7-3 in extras this year.
ADDING POWER
The Rockies called up slugger Mike Tauchman from Triple-A Albuquerque before the game and plan to use the rookie in all three outfield positions. Tauchman hit 10 home runs and was tied for fifth in the Pacific Coast League with 55 RBIs. Right-hander Jairo Diaz, who was called up from the minors Monday, returned to Albuquerque to make room on the roster.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: 2B DJ LeMahieu was removed with a right groin cramp after pulling up while trying to leg out an infield hit in the fourth inning. … LHP Tyler Anderson will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Friday and be out at least 3-4 weeks. … OF David Dahl (ribs) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list, although manager Bud Black said he would be surprised if Dahl doesn’t play this season. … OF Gerardo Parra (strained right quad) is moving better, but the Rockies medical staff is taking a cautious approach with his rehab.
Giants: Bochy said the team plans to place IF Conor Gillaspie on the disabled list before Wednesday’s game to make room for 3B Jae-gyun Hwang, who is being called up. Gillaspie has been out since May 11 with a back injury.
UP NEXT
Colorado rookie LHP Kyle Freeland (8-5) goes for his third win against the Giants this season in the series finale at AT&T Park on Wednesday afternoon. San Francisco counters with lefty Ty Blach (4-5), who has faced the Rockies four times already this season, including three relief appearances.
