Schmitt's 415-Foot Blast Breaks It Open as SF Tops COL 4-2

Casey Schmitt hit a 415-foot home run to left center in the sixth inning that plated three runs and turned a tie game into a comfortable Giants lead. San Francisco never looked back, holding on for a 4-2 win over Colorado on July 11.

The game's early drama had nothing to do with a bat. Colorado grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Brett Sullivan scored on a balk — an ugly, unforced gift that put San Francisco in an early hole. Tyler Mahle settled in after that, going 7.0 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits with 4 strikeouts, which looks like the kind of outing that quietly wins ballgames.

San Francisco answered in the fifth when Jesús Rodríguez doubled to center, scoring Eldridge to tie it at 1-1. That single swing shifted the game's complexion entirely — win probability for the Giants moved from 46% to 62%, a 16-point jump that made it the decisive turning point of the night. One inning later, Schmitt made it academic. His three-run shot to left center — 415 feet — scored Ramos and Arraez and pushed San Francisco to a 4-1 lead. Kyle Freeland had been sharp for Colorado, striking out 9 over 6.0 innings without issuing a walk, but the story of the night was that he couldn't escape the sixth with the lead intact. Nine strikeouts and 4 earned runs is a brutal line to absorb.

Kyle Karros gave Colorado a pulse in the eighth with a 435-foot solo shot to left center — the longest ball hit by either team — but it only trimmed the deficit to 4-2. JT Brubaker closed things out for San Francisco, tossing 2.0 innings of one-run ball with 2 strikeouts. Zach Agnos had kept Colorado's bullpen clean with 2.0 scoreless innings after Freeland departed, but the Rockies simply ran out of time. Schmitt's 3-RBI night was the difference, and it appears San Francisco's middle of the order did exactly what it needed to when the game was on the line.