What we learned as Giants sweep Rockies with fourth straight win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — It’s never a good idea to say you need a sweep, but given how bad the Giants looked in Boston and Philadelphia on the last road trip, they really could have used one at Coors Field. After a blowout loss on the final day of that trip, manager Bob Melvin was honest about how disappointing it was to come up short.
On Sunday, the Giants did seal the deal. With a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, they picked up their first sweep of the 2024 MLB season and extended their winning streak to four games. The Rockies had shockingly won seven straight coming into the series, but the Giants hammered Colorado’s poor pitching staff for three days and finished with a 6-3 homestand.
A few days ago, these two teams looked poised to battle for last in the NL West. But the Giants now are just half a game behind the San Diego Padres, who hold the third and final wild-card spot in a National League filled with mediocrity.
The Giants needed to stop the bleeding on this homestand and they did, with young outfielders emerging as potential stars and some veterans finding their way. They’ll now take a third consecutive road trip to the Eastern Time Zone, although this one should be a bit easier, with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the slumping New York Mets on the schedule.
Did He Think He Was At Coors?
It’s pretty normal for hitters to dramatically improve their stats against the Rockies. But usually they do it in Denver.
Matt Chapman entered this series with a .206 average and .258 on-base percentage, but he absolutely torched the Rockies for three days and got a little bit of (painful) help, as well. Chapman was hit twice in the series but also had eight hits. With an infield single in the fifth, he reached base for an 11th consecutive plate appearance, a streak that ended up in seventh.
Chapman raised his average by 33 points and his OBP by 43 points in a little under 48 hours.
Short Day
Jordan Hicks allowed just three hits and one run, which came on a Ryan McMahon homer in the first inning, but the Giants starter certainly didn’t appear to be anywhere close to his best. Hicks was pulled after just 72 pitches, a season-low, and his velocity was down all afternoon.
Hicks averaged 91.7 mph with his sinker, a drop of more than three mph from his average this season. There shouldn’t be any injury concerns, as he dialed it up to 96 when he needed to get out of…