Dubón's lively effort overshadowed in loss

Mauricio Dubón dropped his bat and immediately turned to the Giants’ dugout after crushing his first home run of the season off Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland.

As he began his trot around the bases, Dubón let out a scream of emotion aimed at invigorating his teammates after they had rallied to take a late lead at Coors Field. The joy wouldn’t last, though.

Dubón’s homer put the Giants ahead, 3-1, but the lead evaporated after the Rockies rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh to hand their National League West rivals a 6-4 defeat in Thursday afternoon’s series finale.

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Former Rockies pitcher Rico Garcia surrendered back-to-back doubles before giving up a pinch-hit, two-run homer to Daniel Murphy that put Colorado ahead, 4-3. As he circled second base, Murphy could be seen glaring at Dubón in center field, likely showing his disapproval of the 26-year-old’s celebration earlier in the inning.

“I didn't notice it when it happened,” Dubón said. “When I came in, they told me about it. I thought it was cool. Honestly, I thought it was pretty awesome.

“What Daniel did, it is what it is. It's something that's been going on around the league forever, so he's probably trying to get me grounded. I respect him a lot, and like I said, I enjoy what he did, too.”

Dubón could be forgiven for showcasing his excitement. The super-utility player was expected to receive substantial playing time in his second year with the Giants, but he had seen his opportunities shrink following the hot starts to the season by Donovan Solano, Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski. Dubón was held out of the starting lineup for three consecutive games earlier this week as the Giants tried to give him a “mental reset.”

Dubón entered Thursday only 6-for-25 over his first 10 games of 2020, but he said he didn’t fear being sent out as part of the Giants’ league-mandated roster cuts before the game.

“I knew about my ability,” said Dubón, who also made an impressive catch to rob Matt Kemp of extra bases in the second inning. “I knew the work I was putting in. I knew things just were not clicking for me yet. I’ve been working, busting my behind in practice and showing these guys that I can play here.”

With Yastrzemski receiving most of Thursday off, Dubón started in center field against Freeland, who held the Giants scoreless through the first six innings. San Francisco’s offense finally began to stir in the seventh following back-to-back two-out singles by Pablo Sandoval and Chadwick Tromp. Rockies manager Bud Black emerged from the dugout for a mound visit, but he decided to stick with Freeland, who promptly surrendered a three-run shot to Dubón that briefly put the Giants ahead.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler said he appreciated Dubón’s desire to revel in the moment and use his emotion to fire up his teammates. He pointed to David Ortiz, his former teammate on the Red Sox, and Bryce Harper, whom he managed with the Phillies, as two examples of players who have channeled their energy in similar ways.

“I think that baseball needs and will benefit from players who express themselves,” Kapler said. “I think there's room in the game for guys who are kind of quiet assassins and put their heads down and run around the bases like Matt Williams did. And I think there's plenty of room for players who get really excited. As long as that emotion and excitement is directed to our dugout and not theirs, I’m supportive of our players expressing themselves.”

Dubón’s shot didn’t hold up after Garcia and fellow rookie reliever Caleb Baragar combined to allow five runs in a rough showing for the Giants’ inexperienced bullpen. The loss spoiled an encouraging return to Coors Field for left-hander Tyler Anderson, who held the Rockies to two hits over five scoreless innings in his first start against his former team.

Anderson, a first-round Draft pick of the Rockies in 2011 who was tapped to start in place of the injured Drew Smyly, was pitching on only three days’ rest after making a relief appearance on Sunday. He departed with his pitch count at 66. Anderson wasn’t completely stretched out, as he hadn’t thrown more than 49 pitches in any of his first three appearances this season. The Giants also want to be careful with his workload as he navigates his first full season back from major left knee surgery.

“I felt good,” Anderson said. “I’d be the first person to go out there and fight for more innings, but to me, that felt like it was the right time. I hadn’t thrown a lot of pitches, and there’s been a lot of injuries going on around baseball. I think that was the right move there.”

The Giants fell to 6-8 on the season after dropping three of four games to the Rockies in the first leg of their 10-game road trip. The schedule doesn’t get any easier, as they will now head to Los Angeles to kick off a three-game series against the Dodgers on Friday.

“We just put one step in front of the other,” Kapler said. “I don't think we have to see too far down this road, especially given everything that's going on in the season with respect to the virus. I think it's just, take the step right in front of you. We understand that there's no architectural blueprint for this season, and we're just going to fight tomorrow. Be ready and prepared to play the Dodgers in Los Angeles tomorrow.”