Ryan Vogelsong hadn’t won a game for the San Francisco Giants since the 14th of August, and headed to Coors Field looking to end that streak. And thanks to a historic night for Pablo Sandoval and a few defensive miscues for the Colorado Rockies, Vogelsong and the Giants triumphed by a score of 8-5.
Pablo became only the 10th San Francisco Giant to hit for the cycle, starting the game off with a two run bomb in the first, followed by a single in the second. His double to left field in the fifth got everyone’s attention, and when Carlos Gonzalez misplayed a fly ball off the wall, Pablo hustled around and slid into third to complete his perfect 4-4 night.
Cody Ross’ RBI groundout in the second started the Giants next rally, followed by Jeff Keppinger’s sac fly and an error from Jordan Pacheco plated Ross to make it 5-0 G-Men. Mark Ellis RBI single in the third and Pacecho’s homer in the fourth got the Rox on the board, and they would make it interesting down the stretch.
San Francisco had stretched their lead to 7-2 by the seventh when Colorado staged a big comeback with three runs in the inning, highlighted by a Chris Iannetta blast, his 13th of the season. Brandon Belt gave the Giants a bit of insurance with a solo shot in the eighth, giving them jsut enough cushion to finish off the Rockies comfortably.
Vogelsong (W 11-7) had some long innings in the thin air at Coors Field, lasting only 5 and 1/3 innings while throwing 104 pitches. He limited the damage to two runs on four hits, along with four walks and eight strikeouts; definitely a higher number of K’s than usual for him.
Steve Edlefsen struggled in his 2/3 innings of work, allowing three runs, but Dan Runzler, Ramon Ramierez, and Santiago Casilla held it down from there, with Casilla earning his 4th save of the season.
With the win the GIants move to 80-70 on the year. Full box score can be found here.