This wasn’t a lineup, but a game of Trivial Pursuit.
At sun-splashed Coors Field on Sunday, the San Francisco Giants sat five regulars, leaving three kids starting who were recognizable only to their own mothers. Kevin Frandsen and Eliezer Alfonzo set career highs in hits. And Fred Lewis went scrapbook, hitting for the cycle in only his 16th career big-league game.
It left the simplest question for the Rockies, and yet a painful answer after a 15-2 thrashing: What just happened?
“I don’t think it would have mattered who was out there today,” Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins said. “They found the barrel on every swing, and we obviously didn’t do much against (starter Matt) Cain.”
There was a relentless quality to the bludgeoning. Every Giants starter had a hit, including Cain’s first of the season. It seemed every time a ball fell safely into the grass, there was an accompanying press-box announcement. By the seventh inning, the announced crowd of 24,243 provided mock cheers with each out.
First baseman Todd Helton called it a good, old-fashioned whipping after his team’s worst defeat since falling 13-0 to the Marlins on June 6 last season. “Nobody likes to play in those games, especially when you are on the losing side,” Helton said.
It was a fitting coincidence that the maligned bullpen’s makeover began in earnest Sunday. The Rockies acquired Florida’s Jorge Julio, who initially will work in the sixth inning, for Byung-Hyun Kim; reinstated Ramon Ramirez from the disabled list; and farmed out Alberto Arias and Denny Bautista.
The only drama came afterward when Giants reliever Steve Kline criticized Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba for advancing to second in the ninth inning on a steal attempt that was ruled defensive indifference.
Torrealba said to forget Kline, adding, “What’s he going to do, hit me with an 84 mph fastball the next time he faces me?”
Injuries, mismatched parts and slow offensive starts have left Colorado frustrated and nestled in the National League West basement. Sunday’s loss only amplified the Rockies’ problems.
“The whole club has just not played consistently well this year,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “The starters haven’t thrown enough consistent strikes. We haven’t hit enough. I am not going to pick on any one thing. Overall as a team we just have not played well.”
Taylor Buchholz offered an example of the maddening lack of predictability.
He was terrific in six scoreless innings against the Cardinals on Tuesday, but the Giants tagged him for eight runs in 4 2/3 innings. Of the 45 San Francisco batters Buchholz has faced this year, 20 have collected hits.
“Whether I made a good pitch or a bad pitch, everything found a hole,” said Buchholz, still in the rotation since Triple-A prospect Ubaldo Jimenez has struggled.
“All you can do is move on.”
A forgettable game to the Rockies will forever be seared into Lewis’ brain. The rookie became the ninth San Francisco player to hit for the cycle, just hours after sending his mother roses.
“That’s quite a day for him,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, “and with it being Mother’s Day, he’ll always remember it.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
