DENVER — A well-placed bunt by Joe Panik enabled the San Francisco Giants to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 in 11 innings on Saturday night.
The Giants avoided a record sixth straight loss to the Rockies and beat them for the first time in five games this year.
Left fielder Nori Aoki began the winning rally with a leadoff walk against Brooks Brown (0-1), the seventh Rockies pitcher. Third baseman Matt Duffy sacrificed Aoki to second. Angel Pagan lined a first-pitch single to center for his fourth hit of the game, sending Duffy to third. He scored on Panik’s sacrifice, sliding just ahead of first baseman Justin Morneau’s throw.
Morneau led off the bottom of the 11th against Jean Machi (1-0) with his third single of the game, but third baseman Nolan Arenado grounded into a double play. Machi got right fielder Carlos Gonzalez on a groundout to end the game.
Colorado got solo homers from Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez and wiped out a 4-2 lead the Giants had taken on Justin Maxwell’s two-run homer in the sixth off rookie Scott Oberg.
Maxwell’s fly to right was not originally ruled a home run, but crew chief John Hirschbeck ordered a review that overturned the ruling and determined that the ball hit the yellow line on the padding atop the fence.
The Rockies tied the score at 4 in the ninth. After left-hander Jeremy Affeldt retired Gonzalez, Santiago Casilla gave up a bloop single to right by catcher Nick Hundley. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu followed with a single to center, sending Hundley to third. Drew Stubbs hit a slow grounder to second and Duffy hesitated before tagging LeMahieu and throwing to first. Stubbs beat the throw and Hundley scored the tying run.
Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki led off the third with his 100th home run at Coors Field. It was his second homer of the season, his first in 24 career at-bats against Giants starter Tim Hudson, and put the Rockies ahead 2-1.
The lead lasted until the fourth, when Andrew Susac hit his first homer of the season.
It was the second time the teams quickly traded runs. Giants catcher Buster Posey’s two-out double in the first put the Giants ahead 1-0. Center fielder Charlie Blackmon’s two-out single in the second knotted the score.
NOTES: Rockies cleanup-hitting 1B Justin Morneau entered the game with only four extra-base hits — three doubles and one homer — and had a .250 average, .288 on-base percentage and .357 slugging percentage. … Giants manager Bruce Bochy said he is monitoring slumping 3B Casey McGehee, who was in the lineup but was hitting .163 while grounding into a major-league-leading seven double plays. … Rockies 2B DJ LeMahieu, who has batted seventh or lower in all but two of his 16 starts, entered the game second on the team with 12 RBIs and was hitting .588 (10-for-17) with runners in scoring position. … Rockies CF Charlie Blackmon has hit safely in 14 of his first 18 games and reached base safely in 17 of them.
