Pomeranz Struggles, Rockies Fall To Giants

This is definitely a situation where it is valuable to look at the big picture rather than harping on the details of one ugly loss. Yes, the Colorado Rockies lost 5-2 to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday and the struggles of Drew Pomeranz were familiar and frustrating. And of course a sweep of the dreaded Giants would have been a radical accomplishment, especially with the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers rolling into town on Tuesday night.

The Giants beat the Rockies on Sunday. Image: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

On the other hand, the Rockies entered this series in the midst of a legitimate downward spiral, dropping an ugly game to the lowly New York Mets as part of a 2-8 stretch on their schedule. Additionally, the scheduled starting pitchers for the Giants represented a who’s who of guys who dominate Rockies hitters: Barry Zito, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner. On the flip side the Rockies did have their best pitchers scheduled with Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge De La Rosa going Friday and Saturday.

So it could have gone either way, and while nothing definite was going to be decided in a weekend series in July, these games mattered. A series loss or a Giants sweep might have pointed the Rockies in a dangerous direction as they enter a stretch of 14 straight games against the National League West. So that means that managing to win this series, against the best starting pitchers the Giants currently have to offer, is a darned fine accomplishment, whether the rival Giants had won 10 straight or lost 10 straight entering the weekend.

Here are two more takeaways from today’s game.

1. Buster Posey is mean

Posey hit a home run on Sunday, making it an astounding 48 games in which he has reached base against the Rockies. 48! Let’s just say the catcher position on the ‘Rockies killers roster’ is set in stone.

2. Drew Pomeranz seriously needs to throw strikes

The fact that Pomeranz issued four walks in 4.1 innings only begins to tell the story of his issues on Sunday. He sprayed his fastball all afternoon, once again making it easy for the opposition to be patient against him. He did not necessarily throw his curveball for strikes any more effectively, but we will never know because the Giants were able to sit on his secondary stuff thanks to the wildness of his fastball. These struggles culminated when Hunter Pence smashed a loopy curveball for a home run in the 4th, effectively ending Pomeranz’s day and forcing him to look to his next start to solidify his spot in the big league rotation.

The Rockies are off on Monday and then host the Yusiel Puig-led Dodgers on Tuesday. Roy Oswalt will take the mound opposite Clayton Kershaw for the series opener.