SF Giants Press Clips Monday, April 24, 2017

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1 San Francisco Chronicle How will Giants-Bumgarner relationship play out? John Shea SF Giants Press Clips Monday, April 24, 2017 By most accounts, the Giants have a strong relationship with Madison Bumgarner. The left-hander averaged 32 starts and 213 innings the previous six years, and that s not counting his historic postseason work. Bumgarner grew up in the Giants system and developed into a team leader, ace and face of the franchise. He didn t publicly moan about his team-friendly contract and was the epitome of durability, taking care of himself to the extent he didn t go on the disabled list. Then came Thursday. The Giants season and Bumgarner s reputation and career took drastic turns when he suffered a shoulder sprain and bruised ribs in a non-baseball accident that landed him on the DL. The Giants said Bumgarner was hurt on the team s off day in Denver in a dirt-bike accident. Fans, once they digested the news, didn t know whether to feel saddened that their team will be without its best pitcher or ticked off that he put the season in jeopardy. Or both. San Francisco Chronicle Giants swept at Coors to finish Bumgarner trip 1-4 Henry Schulman DENVER Manager Bruce Bochy sat in the visiting manager s office at Coors Field after Sunday s 8-0 loss, which completed a horrible trip to Denver on and off the field, and said, We re not very good. The words floated in the air for a few seconds before Bochy sensed what he had said and added, Right now. I m not saying we re not good, he said. We are. But we ve got to find a way to step it up. Bochy and the 25 players in the room will have to forgive the faithful for being skeptical that the Giants can step it up. This is not just a bad start. It s historically bad.

2 The Giants are 6-13 after being swept at Coors for the first time since 2002, matching their worst 19- game start in at least 115 years, last accomplished in If nothing else, the Giants are making it easy on future historians to demarcate what is turning into a disastrous season. They started with a 2-5 opening trip in which they blew eight leads, then followed with a 3-4 homestand that included Jarrett Parker s broken collarbone and Buster Posey s concussion. On Sunday they concluded a 1-4 trip that will be remembered for Madison Bumgarner deciding it would be fun to ride a dirt bike. Now the Giants go home for their first series against the Dodgers, whom they will play in seven of their next 10 games and 13 of the next 23. Maybe they need a dose of Dodger blue. The Dodgers are not playing their best ball either, and facing them at AT&T Park often brings out the best in the Giants. They seem to play better, clearer ball in an energized ballpark, especially early in the season. The Giants took three of four at AT&T the first week last year. They were 4-10 in 2015 when they hosted the Dodgers for three and swept them. When the Giants practically needed to sweep the Dodgers over the final weekend last season to reach the playoffs, they did. That s a big series no matter what time of year we play it, no matter how the teams are doing, Brandon Belt said. Hopefully that can be one of those series that gets us locked in, too, and get us that momentum going forward. They say momentum depends on the starting pitchers. It would help if a rotation sporting a leagueworst 5.02 ERA stopped allowing big innings and a lineup that has scored four first-inning runs all season could give the starters a lead so they do not feel they have to pitch a shutout every night. We need to go out there, play a little smarter, a little cleaner, Jeff Samardzija said after he fell to 0-4 after allowing seven runs in 51/3 innings. Just get back to Giants baseball, which is why we ve been so successful: Get on base, get em over, get em in, innings out of the pitchers. It can be better in all facets. I think everyone in here knows we ve got to win some games. Bochy is in a leadership pickle. He does not want his players to feel the weight of that 6-13 record and think it s the end of the world. But he also wants to see urgency. What you have to be careful of, you can t let any complacency get in, he said. It s early. We ll be OK. I don t want to hear that either. Bochy felt enough urgency to shake up his lineup Sunday. Belt played left field for the first time this year, even shifting to right for two innings. Eduardo Nuñez led off against the first of four consecutive

3 left-handers the Giants will face. The result was a combined six-hit shutout by rookie lefty Kyle Freeland and two relievers. There are so many ways to describe the embarrassment of this series for the Giants. Here is one: They were outscored 26-8, and the Rockies batted around in each game The last year the Giants opened 6-13, manager Frank Robinson s club bounced back with a 19-7 May. The team finished 79-83, fifth in the NL West. Darrell Evans led the club with 30 homers. San Francisco Chronicle Giants unsure if Span will need to go on DL Henry Schulman DENVER Center fielder Denard Span was happy Sunday that he could move his arm around and take his own shirt off. That does not sound like a man who is playing anytime soon, although he and the team consider his status day-to-day. Span said he sprained the sternoclavicular joint near his right collarbone when he crashed into the center-field wall Saturday night while catching a Charlie Blackmon drive. He hurt the same joint making a diving catch for the Twins in 2012 and missed two weeks. Span said when he hit the wall his mind had a quick flash to Jarrett Parker s collarbone fracture, but then I realized I wasn t in as much pain as he seemed to be. It definitely felt like something was jabbing me in that area. ALSO Home plate umpire Greg Gibson, right, makes sure San Francisco Giants Brandon Belt touches the plate after hitting a solo home run during the eighth inning of the Giants' baseball game against the San Diego Padres in San Diego, Friday, April 7, (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Giants swept at Coors to finish Bumgarner trip 1-4 The Giants were left with one center fielder, Gorkys Hernandez, who started Sunday. Asked who his backup center fielder was, manager Bruce Bochy said, I guess it s (Hunter) Pence. Bochy said the Giants are not going to wait long to decide whether to place Span on the 10-day disabled list. A team can play only so many games with one center fielder. It seems inevitable the Giants will have to bring up an outfielder from Triple-A. The most likely candidate is former Rockie and Red Drew Stubbs, who is not much of a hitter (despite homering in each of the past two games for Sacramento) but plays center. Bochy said River Cats manager Dave Brundage told him in a phone call Sunday morning that Stubbs looks real good in center. Mac Williamson and Michael Morse have just started to play at Sacramento while rehabbing leg injuries. The Giants will not bring either up until they are what Bochy termed major-league ready. Briefly: Brandon Belt played left field, using a glove he borrowed from coach Chad Chop, who got it as a gift from Tim Lincecum. For the final two innings, Belt moved to right, where he previously had one

4 inning of big-league time. One measure of how powerless the Giants are: Nick Hundley, who has started just nine of their 17 games, leads the team with seven doubles. Bochy hopes to keep Hundley s bat in the lineup against the three lefties who will start for the Dodgers, perhaps at first base. Hundley has not played there in his major- or minor-league career.... Brandon Crawford is in a 6-for-39 slump. Buster Posey has two RBIs this year. San Francisco Chronicle Giants to have Belt (and part of Lincecum) in left field Henry Schulman DENVER - A little part of Tim Lincecum will be on the field for the Giants on Sunday, in leather, so to speak. Brandon Belt is making his first 2017 start in left field. He has been using a borrowed outfield glove from replay coach Chad Chop, which Chop said he got from Lincecum as a gift. It's a Japanese Nike. "It's a Gold Glove already," Belt joked, pointing to the golden swoosh on the leather. Less than three weeks into the season, the Giants are in scramble mode because of injuries and to try to get some offense out of this lineup. Besides moving Belt to left, Buster Posey is at first base and third baseman Eduardo Nuñez will lead off against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, a move the Giants had resisted. They no longer can. Freeland is the first of four consecutive lefties the Giants will face. The Dodgers' Hyun-jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood are next. But manager Bruce Bochy would not say he will stick with his lineup or defensive scheme throughout the week. For one thing, Bochy wants Posey behind the plate in the Dodgers series even as he wants Nick Hundley's bat in the lineup against all those lefties. Hundley at first base is not ideal, but the staff is discussing it. Another variable is Denard Span, who sprained the right sternoclavicular joint near his collarbone while crashing into the center-field fence as he caught a Charlie Blackmon drive Saturday night. Span is listed as day to day, and Bochy even held out hope that Span might be available off the bench Sunday, but that was not the vibe we got talking to Span. In fact, he said he sprained the same joint in 2012 while making a diving catch and lost two weeks. The Giants will not wait that long to decide on the disabled list for Span. They cannot afford to, with Gorkys Hernandez the only other center fielder on the team. Asked who his backup center fielder was Sunday, Bochy said, "I guess it's Pence." And Hunter Pence has as bruised knee. It seems inevitable the Giants will have to bring up an outfielder from Triple-A. The most likely candidate is former Rockie and Red Drew Stubbs, who is not much of a hitter (despite homering in each of the past

5 two games for Sacramento) but plays center. In fact, Bochy talked to River Cats manager Dave Brundage told Bochy in a phone call Sunday morning that Stubbs looks "real good" in center. Mac Williamson and Michael Morse have just started to play at Sacramento while rehabbing leg injuries. The Giants will not bring either up until they are what Bochy termed "major-league ready," suggesting right now they are not. Belt in left: Belt played one game in left field last season, at Arizona on July 3. He was supposed to have day off but Gregor Blanco came down with a knee injury, Span had a sore neck and Angel Pagan had a sore everything. So Bochy stuck Belt in the outfield. The Giants won 5-4 in 11 innings after Belt made a nice running catch in the left-field corner to rob Brandon Drury of extra bases leading off the seventh inning. "Defensive runs saved!" Belt said. Span heard Belt talking about it and razzed him, saying, "I don't remember that, to be honest. Go ahead and write that." Belt responded with a sharper jab, telling Span, "I ran into the fence, but I stayed in the game. You can write that one down too." Span had an icepack over his collarbone and said he had decent range of motion. He could move his arm and take his shirt off on his own. When he ran into the wall his mind had a "quick flash" to Jarrett Parker breaking his collarbone a week earlier while crashing into the wall at AT&T Park. "Then I realized I wasn't in as much pain as he seemed he was in," Span said. "It definitely felt like something was jabbing at me in that area." Span was getting his X-rays when he received a text from pitcher Matt Moore apologizing for throwing the pitch that Blackmon drove toward the wall. Span told Moore that was totally unnecessary. The San Jose Mercury News Ford flusters Giants fans with Madison Bumgarner day off TV spot Daniel Mano Call it a case of bad timing or call it salt in the wound. Probably, both of those are true even if not intended. Despite Madison Bumgarner s dirt biking accident on his day off, which could change the course of Giants history, Ford pushed a TV commercial over the weekend that focuses on Bumgarner s off-days. Dirt bikes are featured heavily, as well as the F-150 truck Ford is actually advertising, in a spot that debuted in 2016.

6 What Madison Bumgarner does on his day off is anyone s guess, a narrator says as the commercial starts. The spot then cuts to images of some kinda crazy dirt biking, including several riders jumping over an F-150. If you guessed that Bumgarner jumps over F-150s on his dirt bike during off-days, and if you are a Giants fan, you might be a bit perturbed. The San Jose Mercury News Could tanking this season be wisest course for Giants? Andrew Baggarly The Giants have the worst record in the NL. They are seven games back in the NL West already, and it s just April 23. Madison Bumgarner might not throw another pitch this year. So should they try to tank this season? Let s preface with this: you don t ask that question of players, you ask it of management. Players don t try to tank games. They are competitors. If a front office wants to run out a Double-A team for a year or three, knowing they re likely to be overmatched and lose something near to 100 games, then that is a decision made above the manager s pay grade. The Giants do not have Double-A players. They have Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Joe Panik, Hunter Pence and Eduardo Nuñez. They have an All-Star closer in Mark Melancon. They have Johnny Cueto, who started for the NL All-Star team last year. And yet Tanking this season might be the best thing for the franchise s medium- to long-term health. From a baseball operations perspective, anyway. And Bumgarner s shoulder injury, sustained in a dirt bike accident last Thursday, might give the Giants the impetus to go through with it. No, it wouldn t be a multiyear rebuilding plan employed recently by the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs or the current Atlanta Braves. Maybe it s just a one-year thing. Call it a Turbo Tank, maybe. The Giants won t have to make this decision for a couple months, when they would have to posture as buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. But the early returns aren t good. They are 6-13, which matches their worst start through 19 games in modern franchise history. Taken together with their miserable second half last year, they are since the All-Star break. And that projects to a season. It s already evident based on these first few series that the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks are better than a lot of experts predicted. They are younger and more athletic. Even the Padres took a series from the Giants. And while the Dodgers aren t having the greatest April, there is no disputing the riches in their farm system. Shortstop Corey Seager could be a perennial NL MVP candidate and he turns 23 on Thursday. Cody Bellinger is on his way soon. In other words, the rest of the NL West is getting younger and better. And the Giants? They were maybe a year away from their comeuppance, when a team suddenly looks old overnight. Think of the 2010

7 Phillies that the Giants beat in the NLCS. That team was an absolute juggernaut. But even in that series, watching players like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, there were small signs that they were no longer players capable of performing at an elite level five or six days a week. Maybe two or three days. And the next year, maybe one or two. It s a frog-in-a-pot deal. You grow deeply connected to these players. You re used to seeing them succeed and achieve great things together. You come to expect it. You allow yourself to forget that their window to be an elite performer at this level is incredibly small. You end up saying your goodbyes way too late. Giants officials had to know that a significant restructuring was coming soon, and you can only do so much on the free-agent market to build a team these days. It turns out that restructuring may be happening sooner than anyone thought. The outfield already has splintered. And now Bumgarner wiped out on a dirt bike. We should know more about Bumgarner s shoulder injury in the coming days, but does anyone really expect him to throw a pitch before the All-Star break? And if the Giants are cooked in the standings by mid-july, what would be the point in having him attempt to come back at all? A summer out of contention might be just what this organization needs. Fields must remain fallow for a season, or they eventually turn to dust. No, the Giants will not try to lose games. Bruce Bochy will do everything in his power to ensure that his team stays focused and motivated, and shows up ready to win as often as possible. That is what he is paid to do. That is what the players are paid to do. But if it doesn t work out? Well, the Giants could trade Cueto and Nuñez prior to the July 31 deadline and add a few prospects to the system. They could free up money from Cueto s departure to be opportunistic elsewhere. They could get innings and at-bats for Tyler Beede and Christian Arroyo so their top prospects could learn at the last level of development. In the meantime, outfielder Bryan Reynolds gets another year to get closer to the big leagues (he tripled off A s top prospect A.J. Puk on Sunday). They could see if first baseman Chris Shaw or third baseman Ryder Jones is ready to make a jump. They could throw Austin Slater into the fire, and perhaps discover if they have another Matt Duffy on their hands. Their bullpen would gain another year of experience. And next year, if all goes well with Will Smith s Tommy John rehab, they ll have a pretty good lefthander to throw back into the mix. The Giants might even finish low enough in the standings to get a top-10 pick for John Barr, which has turned out pretty well for them. Their last top-10 choices were Zack Wheeler, Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum. That s a whole lot of WAR right there. It s not as if they need to hold a fire sale. They still have a pretty decent framework for a team through 2020 at least, with Posey, Crawford, Belt, Panik, Bumgarner (if healthy), plus some innings stability from Jeff Samardzija and Matt Moore and an All-Star closer in Mark Melancon. This doesn t have to be a painful process.

8 The Giants would never claim that losing could be a good thing for their long-term health. They are PR masters. Remember when they wanted you to think they were bitterly disappointed not to re-sign Pablo Sandoval? Or how they refused to say they had no interest in bringing back Tim Lincecum, instead hiding behind, He wants to start, we d like him to relieve, oh well! But Posey s shattered ankle gave them an excuse to miss the playoffs in Perhaps Bumgarner s injury gives them the same excuse now. Sure, the sellout streak would end, in all likelihood, unless they hire Sean Spicer as a consultant. But that s been a fabricated number for some time, anyway. The Giants still offer one of the greatest ballpark experiences in the major leagues. Their ballpark debt service is paid off. They would survive a few months drawing crowds of 30,000, and maybe a few non-renewals from their season-ticket holders. Sure, some fans would be upset. But after three World Series titles, many others would understand. They might even prefer watching the Austin Slaters of the world while munching on their crab sandwiches. It s better than watching the Giants get even older in 2018, while the rest of the NL West outruns them in the standings. The San Jose Mercury News Giants in free fall, match worst record in franchise history through 19 games Andrew Baggarly DENVER There are only so many ways to describe the depth of the Giants woes this season. Here is one. After getting blown out in an 8-0 loss at Coors Field on Sunday, the Giants are 6-13 and that matches their worst record through 19 games in franchise history. The 1983 team was the last to stumble so badly out of the gate. At least that 83 team had Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper in the dugout to keep things loose. Simply put, the Giants are a mess. They have the worst record in the National League. They already stand seven games back in the NL West after getting swept in three games here at Coors Field. They have lost six of seven to the upstart Rockies, who appear to have more talent in the lineup, more energy in their legs and more healthy bodies on their roster despite the multitude of dirt bike trails here in the high plains. And now, some plain talk from Giants manager Bruce Bochy: Right now, there s nothing clicking, let s be honest, Bochy said. It s a rough start. We re not very good right now. But we ve been through it. I ve got men out there. This is when you find a way to get through it, and they will. The Giants arrived for Friday s series opener here to the news that left-hander Madison Bumgarner, the bedrock of their rotation and most durable performer on the club, had seriously injured his throwing

9 shoulder in a dirt bike accident. Nothing could overcome that disappointment, but at least a victory or two here would ve tasted like an ice cream sundae after a divorce. Instead I mean, Bum wasn t pitching in this series anyway, but we just got it handed to us, Buster Posey said. There s no other way around it. They outplayed us. Now the Giants go home to tangle with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time this season, but the four-game rivalry series is hardly the anticipated NL West power struggle. The Dodgers pitching staff is getting waxed of late, too, and the Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks already have created a bit of separation atop the division. Yes, it is early. Those words are falling easily out of the mouths of players in a hushed Giants clubhouse. But Bochy would prefer not to hear them. What you have to be careful of is to let any complacency set in and say, `It s early, we ll be OK. I don t want to hear that, either, Bochy said. We ve got to come out with a sense of urgency. All these games are important. Every day you come here and plan on coming out of it. I felt that way today. It didn t go our way. I ll feel that way tomorrow. Tomorrow has to be better than all their yesterdays since last year s All-Star break. They are since then, which would project out to a season. Bochy shook up his lineup Sunday in part to put paddles to his offense but mostly to address a decimated outfield that took another hit Saturday night when Denard Span sprained his shoulder while colliding with the center field fence. Bochy put Eduardo Nuñez in the leadoff spot and moved first baseman Brandon Belt to left field for the first time this season. Belt finished the game in right field when Bochy decided two innings of a blowout game wasn t a great idea for Hunter Pence s bruised knee. The batting order shakeup didn t work. A roster shakeup is likely coming next. Veteran center fielder Drew Stubbs is not the kind of player who can rescue a season, but it s hard to believe he wouldn t be an upgrade on Gorkys Hernandez, who made another error in center field. And with Chris Marrero s spring training flame extinguished, Michael Morse could be a Giant again soon. But those are not the roster fixes that will help the Giants turn around a season that has veered onto the soft shoulder and is threatening to spin totally off the road. They have to pitch better, and Bumgarner s left arm is in a sling. The Giants already entered with the worst rotation ERA in the major leagues (4.69), and it went up to 5.02 by the time Jeff Samardzija exited in the sixth inning. It s surprising, yeah, as talented as these guys are, said Posey, who started at first base on Sunday. But they ll get on a roll. The flipside is that our offense hasn t performed well, either. It seems it s never

10 just one thing. These things seem to culminate and pile up when we aren t playing well. We ve just got to play better ball. Samardzija was charged with seven runs in 5 1/3 innings, but he pitched better than his line score. It was a 3-0 game entering the sixth, and two of the runs against Samardzija had scored on a Gerardo Parra home run that barely snuck over the right field scoreboard. The Rockies five-run sixth began when Nolan Arenado hit a comebacker that Samardzija managed to kick to a vacant part of the infield for an infield single. Then came a walk, and a one-out single by Parra that Hernandez misplayed for an error. Trevor Story singled to score two runs, and left-hander Steven Okert cashed in his inherited runner. His split didn t have a lot of movement, Bochy said of Samardzija. He did make some two-strike mistakes. I don t want these guys to feel pressure because we re not scoring runs. The Giants offense made some hard contact against left-hander Kyle Freeland, but once again, they got started too late. Freeland retired the first 11 batters he faced to continue a trend of slow starts for the Giants lineup. It s a trend that concerned Bochy even in spring training. Somehow we ve got to change that, he said. We shook up the lineup, like you saw. There s only so much you can do. These are our guys. Right now, the Rockies guys look better. They outscored the Giants 28-8 and swept them in a home series of at least three games for the first time since (Freeland) had good sinking action on his fastball and we were beating it into the ground, Bochy said. They pitch well in the bullpen, and obviously they swing the bat. This (division) is going to be a fight. These teams are much better, and San Diego took a series against us, too. Could the Dodgers and Giants really be fighting for the right to see who finishes ahead of the Padres in the NL West? Well, maybe not. It s early. MLB.com Bochy wants 'sense of urgency' from Giants Chris Haft DENVER -- The Giants have resorted to tinkering with the outfield, which is something their decisionmakers said they wouldn't do as this season approached. Now the season has begun, and it has begun for the Giants more dreadfully than even the harshest critic might have predicted. San Francisco's woes continued Sunday with an 8-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies that followed a familiar theme: A near-total lack of offense accompanied by flimsy starting pitching. And it included adjustments in the outfield, with Brandon Belt starting in left field for the second time since the start of the 2016 season. With left-hander Kyle Freeland starting for Colorado, Bochy wanted an extra right-handed bat in the lineup, so he stationed Buster Posey at first base and Nick Hundley

11 behind the plate while Belt moved to left. Belt had a long run for a fifth-inning pop fly he couldn't wrangle, but otherwise the results of his appearance were inconclusive. "He was all right," Bochy said. The skipper was much more sharp-tongued about his ballclub overall. Pick a fact, any fact: The Giants have lost six of their last seven games; their 6-13 mark matches their worst through 19 games in franchise history; and they own the National League's worst record. "I don't want these guys to feel pressure because we're not scoring a lot of runs and right now there's nothing clicking," Bochy said before shifting gears. "Let's be honest. It's been a rough start and we're not very good right now. I'm not saying we're not very good -- we are good, but we have to find a way to come out of this." Bochy added, "What you have to be careful of is you can't let any kind of complacency set in and say, 'It's early. We'll be OK.' I don't want to hear that, either. We have to come out with some sense of urgency. All these games are important. You have to stay away from that attitude, too." A few minutes later, unaware of Bochy's remarks, Giants starter Jeff Samardzija said, "Obviously it's still really early, so I don't think we need to do anything different. Play a little smarter, play a little cleaner and get back to Giants baseball, which is why we've been so successful. Get on base, get him over, get him in, innings out of the pitchers, so it can be done in all facets." The Giants mastered none of the game's facets in their Coors Field series finale. Freeland worked seven dominant innings, retiring the first 11 hitters he faced. That has been a typical pattern for the Giants, who are tied for 12th in the league in scoring. "First-pitch strikes were a huge thing today. You automatically get ahead, so they're immediately on their heels," Freeland said. "You want to get ahead and stay ahead, especially with the lineup that the Giants have." However, it was the Rockies' lineup that proved to be more impressive. Their five-run outburst in the sixth inning finished Samardzija, whose ERA climbed to blending with the Major League-high 5.02 ERA compiled by Giants starting pitchers. Already, the Giants have tried virtually everything to spark improvement. "There's only so much you can do," Bochy said. "These are our guys and they've been through this." MLB.com Giants go quietly in road-trip finale Chris Haft and Owen Perkins DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies rewrote club history Sunday while adding another chapter to a season brimming with potential by defeating the San Francisco Giants, 8-0. Gerardo Parra homered and drove in three runs to lead a balanced Rockies offense that complemented rookie left-hander Kyle Freeland's seven-inning effort. The combined shutout completed Colorado's first

12 three-game home sweep of the Giants since May 24-26, 2002, and kept the Rockies (13-6) atop the National League West standings. "We're a team," Parra said. "If you're not hitting today, maybe CarGo's hitting tomorrow. The only thing right now is just play to win. The starting pitching is doing great work, throwing six, seven innings. Every time we win, we're happy. But forget it today and be ready for tomorrow." San Francisco (6-13), which owns the NL's worst record, endured its sixth defeat in seven games while finishing a two-city, 1-4 trip. Right-hander Jeff Samardzija absorbed Sunday's decision, allowing seven runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Asked whether the Giants' current roster is talented enough to launch a turnaround, Samardzija said, "No doubt. Absolutely. We have everything we need in this room. Sometimes you just need to go out in the field and prove it, have a big game and get some momentum and confidence going back with the club. That's what this game is all about. It's about momentum, confidence and trust in yourself, trust in your teammates." Giants manager Bruce Bochy echoed similar faith. "There's only so much you can do," he said. "These are our guys and they've been through this." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Blackmon takes another trip(le): Charlie Blackmon set the tone for another big offensive day for the Rockies when he led off the first inning with a triple for the second straight game and scored on Nolan Arenado's sac fly to left field. According to Elias, the last player to hit first-inning leadoff triples in consecutive games was Jose Reyes, for the Marlins in June Two other Rockies have accomplished the feat: Neifi Perez in September 1999 and Eric Young in May Blackmon later added a two-run double as the Rockies rallied for five runs in the sixth inning. "Charlie's an all-field hitter," manager Bud Black said. "Fastball yesterday ripped down the first-base line, beat [Brandon] Belt to the bag, triple, home run to straightaway center, ball off the right-center wall leading off the game, double down the left-field line. Hit it where it's pitched, that's Charlie. A ball away, he'll take the other way. He can drive the ball to the middle of the field, and he can turn on a ball. He's a good hitter. "You can hit Charlie anywhere, but we need him at the top of the order." Speaking of the sixth inning: Samardzija had his usual good stuff, striking out six. But he twice ran afoul of Parra, who golfed a two-run homer in the fourth inning before contributing a run-scoring single to Colorado's big sixth. That hit increased Parra's career batting average against Samardzija to.400 (12-for- 30). "I think he threw me a splitty," Parra said of the fourth-inning homer. "Only thing I wanted was to get a strike to hit in the middle. I got good contact, home run." QUOTABLE "I know they're going to lay out for every single ball that comes to them, and I have complete confidence that they're going to come up with it and make a strong throw to first." -- Freeland, on the Rockies' defense, which fielded 12 groundouts in his seven shutout innings

13 SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Giants' 6-13 start is tied for their worst start through 19 games in the history of the franchise. Their previous 6-13 starts came in 1896, 1900, 1915, 1916, 1950, 1951, 1972, 1980 and UPON FURTHER REVIEW Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds appeared to end the Giants' half of the fifth inning when he dove to his right and snared Hunter Pence's sharp grounder then slid to touch first base. Pence was called out, but Bochy challenged the call, which was overturned following a video review. WHAT'S NEXT Giants: If any active player understands the Giants-Dodgers rivalry, it's Matt Cain, San Francisco's longest-tenured performer, who's scheduled to start Monday night's 7:15 PT series opener at AT&T Park. But Cain, who broke into the Majors in August 2005, has struggled against Los Angeles, posting a 5-11 record with a 3.53 ERA in 32 appearances. Rockies: Southpaw Tyler Anderson climbs the hill for Colorado Monday to open a four-game set with the Nationals. Anderson is 5-3 with a 3.36 ERA in 13 career Coors Field starts, but he has struggled to start his sophomore season. After making 12 quality starts in 19 chances with the Rockies in 2016, he has yet to complete six innings and has allowed at least four runs in each of his starts this season. MLB.com Giants' depth issues complicate Span's injury Chris Haft DENVER -- The Giants described center fielder Denard Span's playing status as day to day Sunday, less than 24 hours after he sustained a mild sprain of his right shoulder while making a running catch. Though Span avoided the 10-day disabled list for now, manager Bruce Bochy won't be content to spend much more time wondering about his availability. Due to the ballclub's lack of outfield depth, the Giants might wait only a day or two before placing Span on the DL, unless his health improves. "We may have to discuss that with him," Bochy said. The Giants have scant options in the outfield, at least with their current active roster. Gorkys Hernandez, batting.088 entering Sunday, becomes the starting center fielder. Everyday right fielder Hunter Pence, who's attempting to play through a bruised left knee, is the backup center fielder. Left fielder Chris Marrero, whose perceived potential against left-handed pitching enabled him to made the team as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, is batting.176 (3-for-17) against lefties and.135 overall. Otherwise, he, not first baseman Brandon Belt, would have been in left field for Sunday's series finale against Colorado and southpaw Kyle Freeland. Span, who collided with the center-field wall after racing to snare a long Charlie Blackmon drive Saturday, observed that he hurt the same area, the sternoclavicular joint, while diving for a ball in He was sidelined for three weeks on that occasion; this time, Bochy won't wait nearly that long before raiding the Minor Leagues for a replacement.

14 Span said that he still has enough range of motion to be able to take off his shirt. But his shoulder and collarbone hurt. Span said that left fielder Jarrett Parker, who broke his right clavicle when he ran into AT&T Park's left-field wall on April 15, crossed his mind as he returned to the dugout. "I realized I wasn't in as much pain as it seemed like he was," Span said. "I was able to walk off [under] my own power. But it definitely felt like somebody was jabbing me in that area." MLB.com Romo set for AT&T Park debut in Dodger Blue Ken Gurnick With Hyun-Jin Ryu set to square off with Matt Cain, the Dodgers open a four-game series in San Francisco on Monday night in what will be reliever Sergio Romo's first visit to AT&T Park wearing Dodger Blue. Romo can't wait. "I'm excited to go," he said. "I get to see my former teammates, these are my friends. Not only that, I spent 12 years in that organization, nine years in the big leagues, spent every day with these guys. They know when my birthday is. They know my kids and family on a personal level. I will never, ever forget those guys. It's a lifelong relationship. It's pretty dope. Maybe between the lines we're playing against each other, but it will be hard for me to keep that smile off my face when I get on that mound." Romo isn't worried about the reaction from the fans, who long considered him a favorite. "I don't expect them to boo," he said. "But I do expect them to know I'm on the other side. It's cool. They have sellouts and I'm blessed to be part of those sellout crowds. I created a home in San Francisco. Can't just erase it all." Things to know about this game The last time Ryu faced the Giants, Sept. 12, 2004, he left after one inning with shoulder irritation, the start of a two-year journey that included shoulder and elbow surgery. Cain, who has weathered numerous injuries since the end of 2013, actually recorded his most recent quality start against the Dodgers not long ago. He yielded two runs in six innings on April 8, 2016, in San Francisco's 3-2 victory. Beginning Monday through May 17, the Giants and Dodgers will face each other 10 times. NBC Sports Bay Area After Giants First Coors Field Sweep in 15 Years, Bochy Preaches Urgency Alex Pavlovic DENVER Bruce Bochy watched the first two games of this road trip from his home in San Diego and the final three from the top step of the dugout at Coors Field. He did not like what he saw, but at the moment he s more concerned with what he might hear. What you have to careful of you can t let any kind of complacency set in and say, It s early, we ll be ok. I don t want to hear that either, Bochy said. It s the old adage that you come out with some sense

15 of urgency. All these games are important. You ve got to stay away from that attitude, too: We re not through April yet and have 140-something games left. That doesn t work out. Three weeks into the season, nothing is working. The rotation has a 5.02 ERA, the worst in the Majors. The lineup scored 10 runs over a five-game road trip and got shut out twice. The bullpen hasn t been given many leads with which to make up for the first-week trouble. The defense has been uncharacteristically sloppy. It has added up to a 6-13 start, tied for the worst in club history. The Giants have lost six of seven and they ll head home seven games out of first place. Right now there s nothing clicking, Bochy said. Let s be honest, this has been a rough start and we re not very good right now. I m not saying we re not very good. We are good, but we ve got to find a way to come out of this. This was a tough way to end this series. We ve been through it. I ve got men out there and that s when you find a way to get through this. They will. Perhaps Monday will bring some fresh blood for the roster. Drew Stubbs appears poised to give the Giants another veteran option should they cut bait with a struggling outfielder. Michael Morse could be an option in left field soon, and if he s mostly relegated to first, the Giants can put Brandon Belt in the outfield. He looked fine there Sunday while playing both corner spots. Those are moves made around the edges of the roster, though. There is no magic bullet coming from the outside, not even Christian Arroyo, who continues to mash at Triple-A. This is a $200 million roster and much of that has been spent on the rotation. Through 13 games, it is the worst in the National League, and the ace was lost to an off-field accident. Sure, the starters have pitched at Chase Field and Coors Field, but on back-to-back days they were dominated by Rockies rookies who make a living here. Samardzija could not keep pace with left-hander Kyle Freeland, who sawed off a handful of bats while cruising through seven. Samardzjiza gave up a run early, two more in the fourth on a hanging splitter that was blasted to right, and five in the sixth. Bochy challenged his starting staff to improve after Saturday s game. He has not publicly done the same with the lineup, but subtle changes have been made here and there. It is a group that, outside of a couple of players, has lacked energy. Because they don t hit for power, the Giants are reliant on stringing together rallies. For the fourth time in seven games, the lineup failed to put a runner on base the first time through the order. Even in spring training we had our games where we had trouble getting something going early, Bochy said. It s the fourth or fifth before a hit. Somehow, we ve got to change that. The Giants played Sunday without Jarrett Parker (clavicle) and Denard Span (right shoulder sprain), but for the most part the lineup is healthy. Bochy said he has talked to hitting coach Hensley Meulens about possibly altering pre-game routines, but that seems a cosmetic fix. We ve talked and we ve shaken up the lineup, but as you saw today, there s only so much you can do, he said.

16 Bochy knows there is outside noise regarding the roster. His eyes bulged the other day when asked if Arroyo would get a call-up next week. The Giants do not feel he is quite ready, or that there is a spot for him on the infield. For all the potential bench options waiting at Triple-A, this team's core is set, and it s not outrageously banged-up compared to the rest of the division. The Dodgers, who come into town Monday, have 10 players on the disabled list, including No. 2 starter Rich Hill, second baseman Logan Forsythe, and left fielder Andre Ethier. The Rockies, the best team in the NL West thus far, are off to this start without big offseason acquisition Ian Desmond and young slugger David Dahl. Jon Gray, their opening day starter, went on the DL after facing the Giants in San Francisco. Chad Bettis, a rotation member, is getting treatment for testicular cancer. This division is better than expected, and as the end of April approaches, the Giants are bringing up the rear. Bochy s plea for urgency was one that would have fit right in with last season s second half. Back then, the Giants could at least lean on a huge start that got them into the postseason. As they flew home Sunday, there was nothing to fall back on but a simple truth. This is the team. It must play better. We have everything we need in this room, Samardzija said. Sometimes you need to go out on the field and prove it. NBC Sports Bay Area On Eve of Return To SF, Romo Shares Reception He Expects From Giants Fans NBC Sports Bay Area staff For nine seasons, Sergio Romo called San Francisco home. On Monday, the 34-year-old reliever makes his first trip back to AT&T Park wearing Dodger blue. What kind of reception does Romo expect to receive from Giants fans? The three-time World Series champion addressed that while talking to reporters before the Dodgers' game in Arizona on Sunday. "I don t expect them to boo. I do expect them to know I m not on their side anymore," Romo said according to Orange Country Register beat writer Bill Plunkett. Romo hopes that Giants fans will remember the three Commissioner's Trophies he helped bring to San Francisco. "I don t know what to expect. What I m hoping for is that people remember what I did and understand I didn t leave them out of spite," Romo said. After spending most of the offseason unsigned, Romo inked a one-year, $3 million deal with the Dodgers in February. In seven appearances this season, Romo has a ERA in 5.1 innings.

17 NBC Sports Bay Area Instant Replay: Giants Struggle Continue In Sweep From Rockies Alex Pavlovic DENVER Bruce Bochy spent about 10 minutes before Sunday s game talking about potential options in left field and center. The problems for this lineup, however, currently go much deeper than the outfield. A day after the Giants managed just four hits off Antonio Senzatela, the bats went completely limp against fellow Rockies rookie Kyle Freeland. The Giants were shut out 8-0, a rarity at Coors Field. They were blanked twice on the road trip and scored just 10 runs during a five-game swing through Kansas City and Denver. The sweep at Coors Field was the Giants' first since At 6-13, they have the worst record in the National League. For the fourth time in seven games, and third time on this five-game road trip, the Giants went one time through the order without a baserunner. That puts added pressure on your starter, and Jeff Samardzija couldn t keep it close. Charlie Blackmon hit a leadoff liner to right that was misplayed into a triple and he scored on a sacrifice fly. Gerardo Parra got a spinner down in the zone in the fourth and blasted a two-run shot to right. As they did Saturday night, the Rockies pulled away with a huge rally. Nolan Arenado s infield single and a walk of Carlos Gonzalez set the table in the sixth. Gerardo Parra lined a single to center and all runners advanced when Gorkys Hernandez kicked it. Trevor Story s single to right was bobbled by Hunter Pence and two more scored. Blackmon s double made it 8-0. Starting pitching report: Samardzija was charged with seven earned in 5 1/3 innings. He has a 7.40 ERA through four starts. The starting staff has a 5.02 ERA, the worst in the majors. That won t play, not when you ve spent most of your resources the last two years on starters. Bullpen report: Hunter Strickland's Mullet had a scoreless debut. At the plate: Nope. In the field: Brandon Belt s first start in left this season was rather uneventful. He caught a liner right at him in the first and came up inches short on a diving attempt in foul territory. Belt moved to right in the seventh inning. He had one previous inning there in the big leagues but he actually prefers right because it s the same angle as his normal position. Belt gloved a liner right at him in the eighth. Attendance: The Rockies announced a crowd of 42,011 human beings and one donkey, who was a menace. Up next: The first look at the Dodgers. The Giants will see Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood and likely Julio Urias in the four-game series.

18 Santa Rosa Press Democrat San Francisco sports figures honored in naming ceremony Gideon Rubin SAN FRANCISCO Joe Montana passed to Dwight Clark for another memorable play on Sunday. San Francisco plans to name the streets of a development on the land formerly occupied by Candlestick Park after some of the city's most prominent sports figures, and Montana says he wants "Joe Montana Drive" to be renamed "Joe Montana-Dwight Clark Drive." Montana and Clark hooked up for the winning touchdown in the 1981 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys. Clark's leaping grab in the back of the end zone is remembered simply as "The Catch." Montana says he wants "to honor my very special friend." Clark, whose No. 87 has been retired by the 49ers, announced last month he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that attacks cells that control muscles. "The first time (Clark) saw me he thought I was the kicker, and if it wasn't for that 'well-placed' throw that he caught, we would still be chasing the Cowboys today," Montana said. The city of San Francisco announced its plans for the streets in a dedication ceremony on Sunday. Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott and former coach Bill Walsh are among the honorees on the 49ers' side, and former San Francisco Giants players Barry Bonds, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal also will have streets named after them. "These names will honor the history of the 'stick, and recognize some of the amazing athletes who've called the city home," San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said of the plans to recognize the city's sports stars on a 7,000-home master planned development, the city's largest such project in more than a century. "When these families move into the neighborhood they'll be living on streets bearing the names of some of San Francisco's most cherished athletes and executives," Lee said. Santa Rosa Press Democrat Rockies complete sweep of Giants in 8-0 rout Pat Graham DENVER In between starts, the message to Kyle Freeland was rather low-key. As in, low was the key. Freeland kept the ball down while pitching seven sharp innings, Gerardo Parra hit a two-run homer and the Colorado Rockies beat San Francisco 8-0 on Sunday for their first three-game sweep of the Giants at Coors Field since Freeland (2-1) mixed a wicked sinker with a two-seam fastball to get 12 groundouts and three strikeouts. The Denver native allowed six hits and shattered three bats on a day when the Giants

19 changed their lineup to try to break out of a hitting funk. It didn t work as they lost for the sixth time in seven games. Moving forward, that should be a big part of Kyle s game the ground ball, Rockies manager Bud Black said. He did a great job. Colorado leads the NL West with a 13-6 mark. It s tied for the second-best start in franchise history. Then again, the Rockies have gotten off to hot starts before, only to drop off in late May or early June. I don t gauge that as much as some people might, Black said. This is a different group. The struggles keep going for the Giants, who fell to It s their worst start since There s nothing clicking, manager Bruce Bochy said. I am not saying we re not good, we are good, but we have to find a way come out of this by all of us stepping it up. Jeff Samardzija (0-4) remains winless after going 5⅓ innings and surrendering seven runs. That s the most runs he has allowed since Sept. 15, 2015, when he gave up 10 against Oakland when he was with the White Sox. No time to panic, though. We just need to go out there and play a little smarter, play a little cleaner and get back to Giants baseball, which is why we have been so successful, Samardzija said. Trainer s Room Giants: OF Denard Span remains day to day after leaving the game Saturday with a sprained right shoulder. He crashed into the wall while making a catch. OF Mac Williamson (strained left quad) went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Saturday. Rockies: First baseman Ian Desmond (broken left hand) is hitting off a tee and taking some soft-toss swings. RHP Jon Gray (stress fracture in his left foot) is expected to have a second X-ray within the next week TRIPLE WHAMMY Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon led off with a triple for the second consecutive game. The last player to do that was Jose Reyes in 2012, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Two other Rockies have led off with a triple in two consecutive games Neifi Perez in 1999 and Eric Young in Blackmon also had a two-run double in the sixth. The old adage, Hit it where it s pitched that s sort of Charlie, Black said. PERFECT PITCH