Ezequiel Tovar’s homer lifts Rockies over Giants for third straight victory

All Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar could do was watch and admire his masterpiece.

In a tie game against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, pitcher Logan Webb tried to sneak an off-speed pitch past Tovar, only for the young star to crush the ball 455 feet in left field for a two run home run, giving the Rockies a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning.

Tovar has hit four of Colorado’s 10 home runs over the last three games, as his two-hit performance combined with a strong outing from the bullpen led the Rockies to a 4-3 win, their third straight victory and second of the series.

Kyle Freeland was impressive in the opening frame, striking out Giants slugger Jorge Soler on three pitches before forcing a pop out and ground out to left fielder Luis Matos and Heliot Ramos, respectively. In the following inning, Freeland had right fielder Mike Yastrzemski throwing his bat in frustration after striking out on a knuckle curve in the dirt, as San Francisco left a runner on second base.

Webb put himself into a hole in the first inning. He walked designated hitter Charlie Blackmon and third baseman Ryan McMahon while giving up a single to Tovar. With the bases loaded and no outs, Webb forced catcher Elias Diaz to ground into a double play, but the Rockies still managed to score a run. On the following at bat, Colorado center fielder Brenton Doyle drove in a run on an infield single to give his team an early 2-0 advantage.

Diaz left the game in the third inning due to right calf tightness. 

Webb pitched three scoreless innings before Tovar smashed his 16th home run of the season. Webb gave up four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in six innings. He has allowed 11 earned runs in his last two starts.

Freeland gave up his first hit in the third when he threw a sinker over the middle of the plate and shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald took advantage, smashing a solo home run to left-center, cutting the deficit to 2-1. In the fifth, Freeland gave up a one-out triple to Yastrzemski before Fitzgerald tied the game with an RBI double down the third base line.

The Rockies held a two-run lead in the sixth inning when Freeland gave up an RBI-double to Wilmer Flores to cut the deficit to 4-3. Freeland was replaced by Nick Mears after allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters in six innings pitched.

Mears was lights out, as he didn’t allow a hit and recorded four strikeouts in two innings before Victor Vodnik earned the save.

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