Crawford the Giants' latest comeback 'kid'

DENVER -- For the second consecutive day, the Giants’ beefed-up lineup managed to overcome a deficit and rally for a comeback win at Coors Field.

Brandon Crawford delivered a game-tying, pinch-hit double off former Giants teammate Pierce Johnson to spark a three-run ninth inning that lifted San Francisco to a 6-4 win on Thursday afternoon and completed a three-game sweep of the last-place Rockies.

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The Giants have won 11 straight games over Colorado overall and 16 of their last 19 at Coors Field. They came into this series having lost 25 of 26 games in which they trailed after seven innings, but they reeled off two straight come-from-behind victories, displaying the improved depth of an offense that received a big boost from the return of Thairo Estrada and Joc Pederson earlier this week.

Estrada put the Giants on the board with a solo shot off Rockies right-hander Chase Anderson in the first, and Michael Conforto cut the deficit to one with a two-run blast in the sixth, his team-high 12th homer of the year.

“I think it shows that we never give up,” Crawford said. “Especially here in Colorado, I feel like no lead is ever safe. We treat it that way from a defensive side, too. We need to get every out we can and not let them advance bases and stuff like that.

“From the offensive side, we also know that no lead is safe and we can bounce back and put a couple on the board late in the game.”

San Francisco trailed, 4-3, entering the top of the ninth, but it mounted a late rally after Blake Sabol and pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski opened the inning with back-to-back walks off Johnson. Giants manager Gabe Kapler then opted to send the left-handed-hitting Crawford up to bat for rookie Casey Schmitt, who has cooled off after his hot start.

Crawford fell behind in the count, 0-2, before lining a curveball at the bottom of the zone to right-center field, scoring Sabol from second and tying the game, 4-4. LaMonte Wade Jr. brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to center, and the Giants added an insurance run on Pederson’s two-out RBI single.

“It was a great at-bat, obviously,” Kapler said of Crawford’s double. “My thinking is he has experience against Pierce Johnson. It was a big moment, big road trip for us. Casey’s been struggling a little bit against right-handed pitching. I just felt pretty good about Crawford. There’s not much more than that. It just felt like it was the right decision.”

It was the first pinch-hit appearance of the year for Crawford, who has found himself giving way to others in key spots as he’s struggled to settle into a consistent groove at the plate this year. The 36-year-old veteran entered Thursday batting .188 with a .617 OPS and has lost playing time to Schmitt at shortstop in recent weeks, but he didn’t disappoint when his big moment arrived in the ninth.

“Not trying to do too much,” Crawford said. “I was given an inning or so of heads up. I was getting ready before that, but I was trying to lock it in and lock this win in. I’ve faced Pierce a handful of times now, so I know what he has. Not trying to do too much in that situation and just get the barrel on the ball.”

Right-hander Alex Cobb, who gave up four runs over five innings before departing with some left hip tightness, gave Crawford a big hug afterward and said he’s been impressed with the way the three-time All-Star has handled his evolving role this season.

“You’re just happy because you see guys go through changes in their career or go through struggles and they have one of two [ways] to go about it,” Cobb said. “They can be a tough teammate to be around, or they can be the same guy. Maybe if you’re not contributing as much as you’d like on the field, you can still contribute in the clubhouse and be the guy that we expect him to be. He’s been that throughout this whole season.

“I’ve been through struggles, and I know how good it feels to make an impact and contribute to a win.”