SAN FRANCISCO — Some disgruntled Rockies fans have cast Ian Desmond as Darth Vader, but on “Star Wars Night” at AT&T Park, Desmond played the part of Luke Skywalker.
The first baseman broke out of his deep funk by blasting a three-run homer and later added an RBI double as the Rockies beat the Giants 6-1 Friday night.
“I have been in this position so many times, but you’ve just got to go,” Desmond said from a happy and noisy visitors clubhouse. “Once it gets going, it gets going. That’s pretty much the way it’s been in my career.”
Desmond provided an example, noting that a friend from his days with the Washington Nationals had recently texted him with a message of support.
“He told me that in 2014, I was hitting (.228) on yesterday’s date, and I won a Silver Slugger that year,” said Desmond, who finished that season batting .255 with 24 homers and 91 RBIs as the Nationals’ shortstop. “Not only was there bad offense, there was terrible defense. Sometimes I just get in these funks, and snap out of them and get it behind me. That’s what I’m hopeful for here.”
The Rockies have nearly caught the sputtering Diamondbacks in the National League West. Colorado’s victory, coupled with the D-backs’ 3-1 loss the the Mets, left the Rockies a half-game out of first place. Arizona has lost eight of its last nine games.
Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland delivered another solid start, pitching 6 ⅔ innings, allowing five hits, striking out five and walking just one. Freeland’s only major mistake was a solo homer by Giants leadoff hitter Gorkys Hernandez in the first inning. The moonshot to left ended Freeland’s streak of 27 ⅓ innings without giving up a home run. He had not allowed a homer since April 18 in the fourth inning at Pittsburgh.
“I thought the key for Kyle was that after the third inning, I thought the slider became more effective,” manager Bud Black said. “He also got some outs with the changeup. The fastball inside was good again tonight. He jammed some guys and broke some bats.”
Freeland, who improved to 4-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.17, said another key was his ability to move past Hernandez’s first-inning homer.
“We just erased that from our memory really quick and got back to the work we needed to do,” he said. “I started throwing inside and playing off my fastball really well.”
Freeland pitched into the seventh for his fifth consecutive game and delivered his fifth consecutive quality start. He got jammed up in the seventh, giving up solid singles to Evan Longoria and Brandon Crawford. With two outs, manager Bud Black replaced Freeland with right-hander Bryan Shaw, who faced pinch hitter Brandon Belt. Belt is not only a left-handed batter, he’s also been swinging a hot bat. But Shaw struck out Belt looking, much to the chagrin of the Giants faithful.
Shaw, who struck out the side in a key inning in Colorado’s 5-3 victory over the Giants on Thursday night, is now in a good place after a rocky start with his new team.
“Honestly, it got to the point where I was trying to do too much,” Shaw said. “I was trying to nibble, trying to strike guys out instead of attacking guys and getting the early contact. When I go out there and try to strike guys out from pitch one, it doesn’t work out too well.”
Desmond strode to the plate in the fourth inning with a .166 average on his shoulders, with just one hit in his last 10 at-bats. Since homering twice in a game in New York against the Mets on May 6, the first baseman had been in a 3-for-34 drought that included 13 strikeouts. Desmond missed badly on starter Derek Holland’s 78 mph curveball, and it looked as if he might leave and stranded. But when Holland threw Desmond a 90 mph sinker, Desmond turned on the pitch for his three-run no-doubter, propelling Colorado to a 3-1 lead.
He was mobbed in the dugout by teammates who were clearly thrilled to see him come through in a big moment.
“I was really excited,” said center fielder Charlie Blackmon. “I mean, that’s a big spot. We were losing 1-0 and he hits a three-run homer to put us up by two. It was a game-winner. I know he’s been grinding and working really hard. He had a tough (first) at-bat, but it was a really professional job to come back and put a good swing on the ball that went over the fence.”
Added Black: “This is a team. It’s a good group that is truly pulling for each other. It’s an unselfish group that, when guys are struggling, they are trying to pick them up. So that was obviously a blow that the guys felt good about, and felt good for Ian. The emotion that you saw was real. It was the real stuff.”
Desmond made it 4-1 in the sixth with a two-out double to chase home Arenado, who had led off with a double. For all of Desmond’s struggles at the plate, he now has seven homers, fourth-most on the team, with 21 RBIs.
Blackmon added a two-run shot in the ninth inning to give the Rockies some breathing room. It was his 12th of the season, with 11 coming on the road.
