Wilmer Flores draws bases-loaded walk for go-ahead run, Giants come back twice to beat Rockies 9-8

Updated Sep. 9, 2023 1:50 a.m. ET

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gabe Kapler talks to his San Francisco Giants about having a fighter's mentality.

And it took not one but two comebacks to get back in the win column.

Wilmer Flores drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth from Evan Justice to bring home the go-ahead run after Mike Yastrzemski hit a tying RBI single that inning, and the Giants rallied twice to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8 on Friday night and snap a six-game losing streak.

“When you go down in a game several times and we've had some of the challenges that we've had over the last month it's pretty easy to pack it in in those games,” Kapler said. “These guys are nothing else if not fighters. I'm really proud of the at-bats and the continued effort all the way through this game.”

Justice relieved Jake Bird (2-3) and hit Blake Sabol with a pitch to load the bases. After Luis Matos struck out looking, Flores worked the count full and Justice missed his spot — then did so again in walking LaMonte Wade Jr. next.

That insurance run mattered as Camilo Doval surrendered Nolan Jones' two-out double before finishing for his 36th save. John Brebbia (3-0) pitched the eighth for the victory.

Elias Díaz hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh and Nolan Jones also connected for Colorado. Sabol hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh to keep San Francisco close.

The Giants (71-70) avoided falling below 500 for the first time since beginning the day 29-30 on June 4. The Giants had been outscored 41-14 during the skid and are just 10-21 since Aug. 5 to drop out of a wild card spot.

Flores, Mitch Haniger and J.D. Davis homered in order in the sixth for the Giants to erase a four-run deficit and tie the game. They all went to left-center, too. The last time three Giants in a row homered was April 4, 2016, at Milwaukee, where Denard Span, Joe Panik and Buster Posey all connected.

Matos drew a leadoff walk from former Giants lefty Ty Blach to start the inning then Flores hit a two-run drive.

“You could kind of feel the momentum in the ballpark shift, you could feel the momentum in the dugout shift,”

Giants starter Kyle Harrison made the second home start of his career and fourth overall. He struck out five more after fanning 11 in his first start at Oracle Park to give him 16 at home — just shy of Hall of Famer Juan Marichal's 18 Ks in 1960 that are most by a Giants pitcher in his first two home outings, according to STATS.

“It's a great win, we needed that badly,” Harrison said.

Austin Slater and Thairo Estrada, the Giants' scheduled Nos. 1-2 hitters playing center field and second base, respectively, were late scratches — Slater with dizziness and Estrada with pink eye.

NEW DEAL

Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez reached agreement on a $20 million, two-year contract for 2024-25, a deal that allows him to remain with the team as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: Colorado has shut down lefty Austin Gomber for the season, placing him on the 60-day injured list with lower back inflammation. The decision was based on the fact Gomber might not have felt good enough to return for one or two starts and might benefit more now by focusing on his rehab toward being fully healthy for 2024, though “his arm feels great,” manager Bud Black said. ... That move cleared the way for right-hander Victor Vodnik to come up from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Giants: RHP Alex Cobb (hip) is scheduled to throw a bullpen Saturday after playing catch two straight days and could be in line to start Monday. ... OF Michael Conforto tested his strained left hamstring with baserunning Friday and was to be evaluated Saturday based on how he felt a day later before the Giants determine if he's ready to return or perhaps need a rehab appearance.

UP NEXT

RHP Chase Anderson (0-4, 5.98 ERA) makes his second start for Colorado since returning from a stint on the injured list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. For the Giants, RHP Logan Webb (9-12, 3.51) tries to end a six-start winless stretch since beating Arizona on Aug. 2 in which he's lost his last three starts.

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