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Alex Wood, Austin Slater lead SF Giants to 5-3 victory over Rockies

The SF Giants got back on track on Saturday, with Austin Slater and Alex Wood leading them to a win over the Colorado Rockies.

Marc Delucchi

Alex Wood, Austin Slater lead SF Giants to 5-3 victory over Rockies
Alex Wood, Austin Slater lead SF Giants to 5-3 victory over Rockies /
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The SF Giants defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Saturday afternoon, improving their regular-season record to 48-41. Despite opener Ryan Walker (Giants Top 19 Prospect) struggling to start the game, southpaw Alex Wood had his best performance at Oracle Park this season, and the Giants' offense woke up from its recent slumber with a pair of huge home runs.

SF Giants pitcher Alex Wood throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the third inning at Oracle Park on July 8, 2023.
SF Giants starter Alex Wood throws a pitch against the Rockies on July 8, 2023 / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

While the offense's signs of life were the most highlight-worthy of the evening, Wood's outing was the most important. Wood had a 7.59 ERA at Oracle Park this season entering the day but cruised through five shutout innings in 72 pitches, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out three.

With the trade deadline around the corner, the Giants need to figure out exactly what their rotation looks like going forward. A resurgent second half from Wood that solidifies a spot in the middle of the rotation would make it a lot easier to stand pat.

Walker struck out the first two batters he faced in the top of the first inning but allowed a single to Ryan McMahon. McMahon stole second base and scored on an RBI single by C.J. Cron.

The Giants quickly responded against Rockies starting pitcher Connor Seabold. Designed hitter Joc Pederson lined a ground-rule double to left-center field against Seabold in the bottom half of the first, putting a runner in scoring position for the middle of the lineup. Two batters later, Michael Conforto hit a fly ball to left field that sailed over the wall for a two-run homer. It was Conforto's team-leading 13th blast of the season.

Rather than having presumed bulk-innings arm Alex Wood enter after one inning, though, Giants manager Gabe Kapler opted to stick with Walker for an additional frame. Walker only allowed one hit, but Rockies catcher Austin Wynns, who was let go by the Giants in May, sat on a 1-2 slider that was below the strike zone and hit his first home run of the season to tie the game.

Seabold kept the Giants from retaking the lead until the bottom of the fourth inning when a pair of San Francisco's rookies teamed up. Catcher Patrick Bailey (Giants Top 2 Prospect) led off the frame with a hard-hit double to center field (that would have been a home run in 21 MLB ballparks), and left fielder Blake Sabol drove him in with an opposite-field single on a 3-2 fastball.

Rockies manager Bud Black replaced Seabold with veteran lefty Brad Hand later in the fourth. Hand ended the inning without allowing another run to score. But the Giants deployed a series of right-handed bats against the veteran. Wilmer Flores doubled with one out in the fifth. Then, Austin Slater pinch-hit for Mike Yastrzemski and blasted his third home run of the season, giving the Giants a 5-2 lead.

Slater's blast would prove to be more than enough for Wood and the rest of the Giants' bullpen. Kapler gave submariner Tyler Rogers a chance for redemption against Ezequiel Tovar, who hit a game-winning three-run homer against Rogers on Friday night. Rogers retired Tovar to start the inning but allowed three hits and a run after Slater just missed catching a ground-rule double from Kris Bryant that would have ended the inning.

With a 5-3 lead, closer Camilo Doval entered in the top of the ninth and retired the Rockies in order, adding a pair of punchouts in the process. It was the 26-year-old closer's league-leading 26th save of the season.

With the victory, the Giants are now three games back of the Diamondbacks and 2.5 games back of the Dodgers in the National League West standings. The Giants will look to head into the All-Star break with a victory on Sunday. SF Giants ace Logan Webb will make the start against Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM Pacific.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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