SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants got back into the swing of things against their own personal punching bag on Sunday night, riding a trio of home runs from Thairo Estrada, Mitch Haniger and Joc Pederson to a 6-3 comeback win that completed a three-game sweep of the last-place Rockies at Oracle Park.
Colorado jumped out to a 3-0 lead against rookie right-hander Keaton Winn, but San Francisco got two runs back in the bottom of the second and then surged ahead for good after Estrada and Haniger homered off Rockies right-hander Peter Lambert to power a three-run third.
Pederson added a solo shot in the fifth to cap another productive day for the Giants’ offense, which came alive for 24 runs and eight homers over this three-game series.
- Games remaining (19): vs. CLE (3), at COL (4), at AZ (2), at LAD (4), vs. SD (3), vs. LAD (3)
- Standings update: The Giants (73-70) are 1 1/2 games behind the D-backs (75-69) for the third and final National League Wild Card spot. They also trail the Marlins (74-69) and are in a virtual tie with the Reds (74-71) in the race.
“Guys are coming together a little bit,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “The whole group has been together for some time now. You’re starting to see that gelling happening. We’re not saying that this series with the Rockies means we’re going to hit a ton of home runs the rest of the way, but certainly you can see one guy feeding off the other.”
San Francisco has now won 16 of its last 17 meetings with Colorado dating back to last August and will have another opportunity to continue that run of dominance during their final matchup at Coors Field from Sept. 14-17.
As one of four clubs jockeying for the final NL Wild Card spot, the Giants will have to keep taking care of business against the softer parts of their schedule as they attempt to climb back into playoff position over the final few weeks of the regular season.
San Francisco’s resurgent bats could bode well for the team's ability to make a late push down the stretch. The Giants entered Sunday with the lowest OPS in the Majors (.656) since the All-Star break, but several hitters finally seem to be turning a corner after months of prolonged slumps.
Pederson is batting .321 with four doubles, one triple and two homers over his last 19 games, while Mike Yastrzemski is 8-for-13 with four RBIs over his last four games. Rookie outfielder Luis Matos has also provided a boost since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, going 8-for-16 with two doubles and two RBIs over his last four games.
Haniger, the Giants’ biggest free-agent addition after signing a three-year, $43.5 million deal over the offseason, entered Sunday with a career-low .641 OPS after missing 64 games with a right forearm fracture, but he’s homered in back-to-back games and could be another difference-maker down the stretch. The same goes for fellow outfielder Michael Conforto, who is nearing a return from the injured list.
“I know a lot of guys in this clubhouse feel that we control our own destiny,” Haniger said. “If we play to our potential and we treat every game like the most important game, we’ll be in the playoffs.”
The Giants may have broken out against the Rockies’ leaky pitching staff, but they’ll now face a tougher challenge in the Guardians, who have Gavin Williams (3.34 ERA), Cal Quantrill (5.70 ERA) and Logan Allen (3.68 ERA) lined up to pitch in a three-game series that begins on Monday night.
“We’re going to need to continue that, because Cleveland arms are really good,” Kapler said. “They’re young, they have good life, and they’re going to be coming after us, so it’s good that we’re going into the series swinging the bats well.”
Winn earned his first career victory after giving up three runs on five hits over six innings in his third Major League start and his first since July 4. The 25-year-old recorded seven of his nine strikeouts with his splitter, which he threw 57 percent of the time and used to generate 18 swinging strikes.
Winn opened his start with a 1-2-3 first inning, though he had an injury scare in the second after he was struck on the left knee by a 108.4 mph comebacker off the bat of Elehuris Montero.
Winn was visibly in pain and knelt behind the mound as he was evaluated by head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner, but he stayed in the game. He briefly lost his command, giving up a two-run triple to Hunter Goodman and a sacrifice fly to Sean Bouchard, but he recovered and retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced.
“I wanted to stay in that game,” Winn said. “I prepared all week for that game. I’m glad that they trusted me enough to let me stay in.”