Home Opener: Giants Vs. Rockies 4/9/2021

The Rockies entered this game coming off of a series that they tied 2-2 with the Diamondbacks. The Giants entered this game coming off of a nice 2-1 series win over the Padres that put them at .500. The Giants also had an off day before this game. This game was the Giants home opener with an attendance of 7,390. The Giants hoped to get a win to kick off the season in front of their fans. The Giants would attempt to get that win with a starting lineup of Austin Slater (LF) hitting leadoff, Mike Yastrzemski (RF) hitting 2nd, Donovan Solano (2B) hitting 3rd, Darin Ruf (1B) hitting cleanup, Wilmer Flores (3B) hitting 5th, Buster Posey (C) hitting 6th, Mauricio Dubón (CF) hitting 7th, Brandon Crawford (SS) hitting 8th, and Giants starting pitcher Johnny Cueto hitting 9th. The Rockies starting lineup was Garrett Hampson (CF) hitting leadoff, Ryan McMahon (2B) hitting 2nd, Trevor Story (SS) hitting 3rd, Charlie Blackmon (RF) hitting cleanup, C.J. Cron (1B) hitting 5th, Raimel Tapia (LF) hitting 6th, Josh Fuentes (3B) hitting 7th, Dom Nuñez (C) hitting 8th, and Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber hitting last. This was Johnny Cueto’s 2nd game of the season and he hoped to make the most of it. For the Rockies to win they needed to get Cueto’s pitch count high, limit Giants homers, and take an early lead. For the Giants to win they needed to get walks, execute with runners on base, and find a nice game out of Johnny Cueto and the bullpen. Would the Giants please their fans with a win or would the Rockies ruin the occasion? To the game!

Garrett Hampson led off the game by striking out swinging. Then Ryan McMahon bunted to Johnny Cueto for an out. To end the top half of the inning Trevor Story lined out to Mauricio Dubón in center field. To leadoff the Giants Austin Slater struck out swinging. Mike Yastrzemski then grounded out to 2nd baseman Ryan McMahon. To end the inning Donovan Solano grounded out to 3rd baseman Josh Fuentes. The 1st inning was a great showing of pitching, each pitcher with 3 straight outs. The Giants and Rockies were tied 0-0 after the 1st inning.

Charlie Blackmon grounded out to Donovan Solano who tossed the ball to Johnny Cueto for the first out of the inning. Then C.J. Cron grounded out to Brandon Crawford. To end the top of the 2nd Raimel Tapia grounded out to Donovan Solano. Darin Ruf led off the bottom of the inning by grounding out to Trevor Story. Then Wilmer Flores walked. Buster Posey was up next and he struck out swinging. To end the inning Mauricio Dubón grounded out to Trevor Story. This was another great inning from Austin Gomber and Johnny Cueto. Wilmer Flores was the first man on base in this game with the walk. The Giants and Rockies were tied 0-0 after the 2nd inning.

Josh Fuentes lined out to Johnny Cueto for the first out of the inning. Dom Nuñez then struck out swinging for the 2nd out of the inning. To end the inning Austin Gomber flew out to Mauricio Dubón in center field. To leadoff the bottom of the inning Brandon Crawford flew out to Raimel Tapia. Then Johnny Cueto struck out looking. To end the 3rd Austin Slater grounded out to Trevor Story. Johnny Cueto was perfect through 3 innings and Austin Gomber was near perfect but gave up a walk. The Giants and Rockies were still knotted at 0-0 after the 3rd inning.

Garrett Hampson flew out to Mauricio Dubón to leadoff the top of the 4th. Then Ryan McMahon popped out to Brandon Crawford in foul territory. To end another great inning from Johnny Cueto Trevor Story flew out to Mauricio Dubón in center field. Mike Yastrzemski grounded out to C.J. Cron to start the bottom half of the inning. Donovan Solano then flew out to Charlie Blackmon for the 2nd out of the inning. To end the inning Darin Ruf flew out to Blackmon as well. This was another 1, 2, 3 inning from each pitcher. The Giants and Rockies were once again tied 0-0 after the 4th inning.

To leadoff the 5th inning Charlie Blackmon grounded out to first baseman Darin Ruf. C.J. Cron was up next and he walked. Then Raimel Tapia hit a single to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Josh Fuentes then grounded into an inning ending double play. Wilmer Flores led off the Giants half of the inning by striking out swinging. Then Buster Posey hit an opposite field single. Mauricio Dubón then hit into a fielders choice for the 2nd out of the inning. To end the inning Brandon Crawford grounded out to C.J. Cron. This was a great inning for the Giants but Johnny Cueto gave up his first hit of the game. The Giants and Rockies were still tied 0-0 after the 5th inning.

Dom Nuñez singled up the middle to leadoff the top of the 6th inning. After that Austin Gomber struck out on a foul bunt. Then Garrett Hampson struck out swinging for the 2nd out of the inning. To end the inning Ryan McMahon lined out to Austin Slater in left field. Johnny Cueto led off the bottom of the inning by grounding out to 2nd baseman Ryan McMahon. Austin Slater was up next and he flew out to Garrett Hampson in center field. Then Mike Yastrzemski came up to bat and on a 2-0 count he hit a foul ball into the stands which I caught. Yastrzemski ended up walking. To end the inning Donovan Solano grounded out to Josh Fuentes. Both pitchers pitched well with a 6th straight scoreless inning. The Giants and Rockies were tied 0-0 after 6.

Trevor Story popped out to Buster Posey in foul territory to lead off the 7th inning. Then Charlie Blackmon struck out looking and was ejected after arguing the call. To end the inning C.J. Cron struck out on a foul tip. Darin Ruf led off the bottom of the inning with a walk. Then Wilmer Flores struck out swinging for the first out of the inning. Buster Posey was up next and he walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd. After that at bat Tyler Kinley came in to pitch the rest of the inning for Austin Gomber. Alex Dickerson then pinch hit for Mauricio Dubón and walked to load the bases. Brandon Crawford was able to take advantage of his opportunity with a 2 run double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Johnny Cueto who was pitching came up to bat and grounded out to Trevor Story for the 2nd out of the inning. Then Austin Slater walked to load up the bases once again. Ben Bowden came in to finish the inning for Tyler Kinley after that at bat. To end the inning Mike Yastrzemski struck out looking. This was a great inning for the Giants where they scored the first runs of the game. The Giants led 2-0 after the 7th inning.

Brandon Belt came into the game for Darin Ruf after the 7th inning. Alex Dickerson remained in the game as the left fielder and Austin Slater moved to center field. Raimel Tapia led off the inning by grounding out to Johnny Cueto. Then Josh Fuentes struck out swinging for the 2nd out of the inning. To end the inning Dom Nuñez hit a short ground ball that Buster Posey picked up and threw to Brandon Belt for the out. Robert Stephenson pitched the bottom of the 8th for Ben Bowden. Stephenson started by striking out Donovan Solano. Then Brandon Belt singled to right field. Wilmer Flores then walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Next Buster Posey singled to load the bases. Alex Dickerson was up next and he singled to keep the bases loaded and give the Giants a 3-0 lead. After that RBI Stephenson was taken out for Jordan Sheffield. To end the inning Brandon Crawford grounded into a double play. This was a great inning for the Giants where they widened their lead. The Giants led 3-0 after the 8th inning.

Chris Owings pinch hit for Jordan Sheffield and hit a triple to leadoff the inning. Then Garrett Hampson hit a sacrifice fly to Mike Yastrzemski to score Owings. For the 2nd out of the inning Ryan McMahon lined out to Yastrzemski. Trevor Story then singled. After that Johnny Cueto was taken out and got a huge applause from the crowd. Jake McGee was put in the game in Cueto’s place. McGee ended striking out Sam Hilliard to end the game. The Giants won 3-1 in their home opener.

Leo’s Extra Inning: This was a great win for the Giants in front of their fans led by Johnny Cueto who pitched 8 2/3 innings and gave up 4 hits, 1 earned run, and a walk. Cueto also had 7 strikeouts and got the win. If Cueto had gotten Chris Owings out he would’ve thrown a complete game shutout. Jake McGee only pitched to 1 batter and struck him out. McGee ended up with the save. On the hitting side of things the Giants were led by Brandon Crawford who went 1 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. Alex Dickerson played well too going 1 for 1 with an RBI and a walk. Buster Posey was the final highlight for the Giants going 2 for 3 with a run scored and a walk. Austin Gomber started for the Rockies and pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up 1 hit, 2 earned runs, and 4 walks. Gomber also had 5 strikeouts and got the loss. Despite getting the loss Gomber still pitched a great game. The Rockies bullpen pitched well too with 4 pitchers pitching 1 2/3 innings. In that time the bullpen gave up a combined 4 hits, 1 earned run, and 3 walks. The bullpen also had a combined 2 strikeouts and every pitcher got a no decision. The Rockies offense was led by Chris Owings with a triple late in the game in his only at bat of the game. Garrett Hampson was the one with the only RBI from the Rockies in this game. Overall, was an amazing game to watch and a massive pitching duel between Johnny Cueto and the Rockies pitching staff.