There wasn’t a cloud in the sky at AT&T Park as the Giants took on the Rockies on Jackie Robinson Day, but an overcast day with an appearance from Karl the Fog would have better conceptualized the mood as San Francisco fell victim to a 5-0 shutout.
San Francisco already looked poised to take their eighth loss of the season through the first couple of frames as Chatwood handcuffed the Giant offense and the Rockies feasted on Matt Moore, but the Giants were dealt a bigger blow with the loss of Jarrett Parker in the fourth inning.
The Opening Day left fielder made an amazing over-the-shoulder catch to rob DJ LeMahieu of extra bases and kill a Rockie rally in the fourth. He slammed into the left field wall with no time to stop his momentum and knew from the moment of collision that he was injured.
Parker grimaced in pain as he held his right collarbone and immediately began sprinting towards the infield after the grab before falling to a knee in shallow left field; his sacrifice saved Colorado from scoring, but will cost him dearly as an extended trip to the DL seems imminent.
Shut out for the first time this season, the Giants couldn’t find a way to attach any time of silver lining to a forgettable ballgame. Tyler Chatwood was perfect for 5 ⅔ innings, and although his bid at history ultimately fell short, the lefty recorded the first complete game shutout of his career while limiting the Giants to only three baserunners.
Chris Marrero and Joe Panik chipped in a single each and Denard Span drew a walk, but other than that Saturday’s afternoon ballgame was all about the Rockies. Moore couldn’t replicate the magic from San Francisco’s home opener, allowing 10 of Colorado’s 11 hits on the day and all five of its runs.
Three of those 11 hits came off the bat of Nolan Arenado, who has a well-documented affinity for Giant pitching.
Arenado recorded his 20th career home run against the Giants, the most he’s hit against any other team, to break a scoreless tie in the third, as well as a rocket single in the first and a ground-rule double to deep left-center in the sixth.
He further proved why he has four Gold Gloves as well, making an impressive barehanded grab before firing over to first to rob Eduardo Núñez of an infield single.
Four Rockies, including Arendo, recorded multi-hit games and a typically aggressive Trevor Story drew a pair of walks.