Rockies 7, Giants 4: Colorado turns tables on San Francisco

The Rockies scored five runs in the ninth inning against Giants closer Sergio Romo to earn a 7-4 victory in their series opener in San Francisco on Friday.

Pinch hitter Ryan Wheeler hit a game-tying two-run single with one out in the ninth and the Rockies added on with RBI singles from DJ LeMahieu and Michael McKenry. Colorado capped off its ninth-inning scoring onslaught with LeMahieu scoring on a play in which McKenry was picked off at first base.

All that insurance was nice, but LaTroy Hawkins didn't need it. The Rockies' closer retired the Giants in order in the bottom half of the inning, beginning with a strikeout of Gregor Blanco and ending with a Hunter Pence groundout.

Before Friday, the Rockies were 0-29 in games in which they trailed entering the ninth inning, but that only speaks to part of the improbability of their comeback. In addition, it marks the first time this season that the Giants lost a game in which they held a lead after eight innings.

Sadly, the win doesn't feel as good as it probably should due to the injuries suffered by Troy Tulowitzki and Jorge De La Rosa. Jorge was hurt first, tweaking his back in the third inning before being pulled an inning later in favor of Tommy Kahnle, who performed admirably for three innings. DLR is day-to-day. Tulowitzki injured his toe while rounding first base on a leadoff single to start the ninth-inning rally. X-rays were negative, but Tulo's status is unknown.

The aforementioned base hit from Tulowitzki resulted in the Rockies' first baserunner since two outs in the third inning, when Justin Morneau drove in the first two runs of the game on a two-out single. The Giants evened the game in the next half inning and added on against Kahnle and Chris Martin while coming up with key hit after key hit. At that point, the game obviously felt like 95 percent of the other games that the Rockies play at AT&T Park, but the tremendous resiliency that the Rockies have shown at various points this season returned, and with it, Colorado has won three consecutive games for the first time in almost a month and a half.

And, regarding the injuries, at least we were able to witness the triumphant Twitter return of Rockies Injury Update. A magical night, indeed.

Source: FanGraphs