Rockies turn tables on SF Giants in 8-7 walkoff win

The Giants were one strike and one costly error away from sweeping the Rockies before Colorado’s three-run 9th gave them an 8-7 win.

Coors Field giveth, and Coors Field taketh away. After two games where the San Francisco Giants rallied back from big deficits, the Colorado Rockies turned the tables on them Thursday. The Giants had a 7-2 lead after five innings, but the Rockies chipped away at the lead and won it on Orlando Arcia’s two-out, two-strike, two-run walkoff single in the bottom of the 9th for an 8-7 win, denying the Giants a sweep.

Randy Rodriguez came close to retiring the Rockies in the 9th on two separate plays. He initially got a lot of help from his defense, specifically Jung Hoo Lee,

After two walks and a Thairo Estrada double loaded the bases with one out, Rodriguez faced Brenton Doyle and induced a double-play ball to Casey Schmitt at third that could have ended the game. But Schmitt bobbled the ball and everyone was safe. After Rodriguez struck out pinch-hitter Hunter Goodman, he went to 0-2 on Arcia and his next pitch just missed outside. Three pitches later, Arcia singled to left to score Doyle.

It was a reversal of the previous two games, when it was the Giants scoring big in late innings. In this one, they built a big lead, thanks to a big game from new first baseman Dominic Smith and a very solid start from Hayden Birdsong, making his Coors Field debut.

Smith homered and went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs. The big blow came in the 5th inning off starter Antonio Sanzatela, who gave up seven runs and nine hits in 4+ innings. Smith followed a Wilmer Flores double and a Mike Yastrzemski walk with his first home run as a Giant — a 433-foot bomb into the second deck in right field.

That hit chased Senzatela, but the remaining Colorado relievers held the Giants to just two hits over the next five innings. They got runners on first and second in both the 7th and 9th innings, but the rallies were snuffed out by double plays each time.

Smith reached on an infield hit in the second as the Giants batted around and turned five singles, a walk, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly to score four runs. Logan Porter got his first hit and first RBI as a Giant for the team’s second run, then came around to score on Heliot Ramos’ two-run single.

Birdsong acquitted himself well in his first start at altitude. Through 3 ²⁄₃ innings, he’d only given up a single infield hit, but with two out in the fourth inning, another infield hit, two more singles, and a walk led to two Rockies runs after a two-run single from rookie Ryan Ritter.

In his final inning, Birdsong gave up a home run to Mickey Moniak, who homered in his second straight game. If it makes you feel better about the loss, the home run hit a sign that meant the Rockies will donate $15K to a service dog charity.

They also earned tacos for their fans by scoring seven runs, and let’s be honest: Fans who are still supporting the Rockies in 2025 absolutely deserve free snacks for their loyalty.

The Rockies put themselves in position for their dramatic rally thanks to a two-run double from Estrada, who still might resent the Giants for choosing Brett Wisely and Christian Koss over him, to which we say: Fair enough.

It’s rough that the Giants missed a chance to sweep, but they also could have been swept without a few fortunate plays. Now it’s on to Los Angeles, where they’ll be ready to start another seven-game win streak. Right? RIGHT?