San Francisco Giants' Patrick Bailey heads up the first-base line after connecting on an RBI-triple off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Dinelson Lamet in the third inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 6, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENVER — There is no lack of San Francisco Giants who enjoy hitting at Coors Field, and after their first game of the season in its mile-high setting, they can probably add at least one more player to the list.
Rookie catcher Patrick Bailey quickly learned why the Colorado Rockies’ home is considered a hitter’s paradise, contributing a trio of extra-base knocks in a well-rounded rout Tuesday night in the first of three games between the NL West rivals. The Giants (30-30) won, 10-4, beating Colorado for the ninth straight game.
Bailey doubled twice, scored two runs and collected his first career triple as the Giants got 14 hits, including at least one from all but one member of their starting lineup. San Francisco set a franchise record with eight doubles, including a pair from Thairo Estrada in addition to Bailey’s contribution.
LaMonte Wade Jr. also reached base in all six of his trips to the plate, scoring twice, to raise his on-base percentage to .429, second-best in the majors.
One of the majors’ most patient hitters, Wade led off the bottom of the first by ripping the first pitch he saw from Rockies starter Dinelson Lamet down the right field line for a double, then attacked the first pitch again in the seventh for another line-drive single. For the most part, though, Giants hitters made Colorado’s pitchers labor.
The first of Bailey’s doubles came on the seventh pitch of his at-bat, while he saw another seven pitches before tripling on the eighth offering of his next at-bat. The Giants drew a season-high 11 walks and saw six or more pitches in 12 of their trips to the plate, forcing the Rockies to throw 240 total, the second-most in a game by any team in the majors this year (behind only the Oakland A’s, who used 245 in a 17-6 loss to the New York Mets).
Time of game: 3 hours, 28 minutes minutes, the Giants’ longest nine-inning game outside of Mexico City this season.
Bailey became the first Giants rookie with three extra-base hits in a game since Mike Yastrzemski in 2019, and one of only four players in franchise history to do it within the first 15 games of their career (last: Jarrett Parker, Sept. 26, 2015). It should come as no surprise that his first career triple came in the expansive dimensions here, where three-baggers occur 35% more than the average MLB park.
Bailey could have made it to third base standing up, after nearly missing out on a homer to straightaway center. The ball hit off the 415-foot sign and bounced away into no-man’s land, allowing Bailey to round second before an outfielder was able to get his hands on the ball.
Few players have enjoyed Coors Field like Brandon Crawford, who doubled home Bailey to score the Giants’ first run in the second inning. The 36-year-old shortstop occupied the No. 9 spot and still sports only a .639 OPS this season, but he showed he’s still got it at Coors, where he owns the seventh-best OPS of any major leaguer since the start of 2019 (1.088).
Crawford had to get creative to sneak into second safely after lining a hanging slider off the right-field wall. Randal Grichuck quickly fielded the ball on one hop and made a good throw to second base; Crawford dove headfirst, and when that didn’t quite get him there, rolled over onto his back while holding on to the bag.
Returning from the injured list, Estrada poked a single over second base that drove in Crawford in the second inning and later added a pair of doubles, finishing 3-for-5 in his first game since May 25. Joc Pederson, playing his first game since May 12, reached base three times and scored one of the Giants’ five runs in the fifth inning.
In a twist of irony, the Giants player with the best numbers at Coors, Mike Yastrzemski (1.120 OPS at Coors Field since 2019, second-best in MLB), was the one member of their lineup held hitless, though he still drew a pair of walks and scored a run.
Yastrzemski collided with Austin Slater on a triple from Jurickson Profar in the seventh inning, but both players remained in the game. The ball was hit to the warning track in right-center field, and Yastrzemski’s momentum carried him into Slater, who had pulled up, knocking both to the ground.
Originally published at Evan Webeck