Wherever the Giants’ offense was hiding, they found it.
The same offense that put just one run on the board in a loss Friday night posted nine Saturday afternoon, powering the Giants to a 9-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.
The Rockies started the scoring in the first when Charlie Blackmon scored on a Nolan Arenado single, and added on in the second when Daniel Castro grounded into a double play, scoring Ian Desmond.
But the Giants quickly answered back in the second when Stratton scored Miguel Gomez on a groundout to second, and then broke through in the third, when Brandon Crawford unleashed a two-run double down the left field line. Gomez then singled to right, scoring Brandon Belt and putting the Giants up 4-2.
Stratton gave one back in the fourth when Castro once again grounded into a double play to score Desmond. But the Giants answered back once again, as Gregor Blanco reached third on a leadoff triple down the right field line that bounced off the Rockies’ bullpen ball bag. Andrew McCutchen then popped out to right and Buster Posey grounded out to short, but Belt came through with two out, singling to right to drive in Blanco.
The Rockies once again countered in the fifth when Blackmon scored on a Trevor Story single. However, on the same play, Gerardo Parra tried to advance from first to third, but McCutchen had other ideas.
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Parra was initially ruled safe, but the call was later overturned, ending the inning.
McCutchen did some damage with his bat in the bottom of the frame, lacing a two-out double down the left field line. Gomez scored easily, but Parra muffed the ball near the wall, allowing Austin Jackson to score from first.
Crawford crushed a deep two-run home run to right-center in the sixth to cap the scoring.
Stratton struggled with command early, but was able to work his way through five innings and hold the Rockies to four runs (three earned), while the Giants’ bullpen protected the lead, hurling four shutout innings in the win.