MLB Rankings: Greatest Hits in Week-16
6. Ian Desmond, 47 percent
The Giants beat the Rockies 8-4 Tuesday night in Denver, no thanks to Ian Desmond.
Colorado’s veteran center fielder only delivered one hit Tuesday night, but it should have been a pivotal one. It came after the Giants carried a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth and turned the game over to their own celebrated closer, Will Smith.
Smith got off to such a good start this year that he was viewed as a viable trade candidate for any team needing a closer. He was, anyway, until the Giants began reeling off victories around the end of June. Since June 30, San Francisco’s record is 14-3 and Smith appears to have come off the trade market.
Tuesday, however, the Giants won despite Smith, not because of him. The problem began when Trevor Story hammered a 1-1 Smith pitch into the left-field seats for a home run that reduced the Giants lead to 4-2.
One out later, Daniel Murphy singled, bringing up Desmond. His first-pitch home run tied the game and gave Colorado, the home team, a 60 percent chance of eventually winning it.
In the top of the 10th, however, the Giants worked some magic of their own against another renowned closer, Colorado’s Wade Davis. One-out walks to Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval set up the trouble. Alex Dickerson’s single scored Posey with the go-ahead run and follow-up hits by Brandon Crawford and Mike Yastrzemski sent two insurance runs across. The Giants added an eighth run when Nolan Arenado failed to handle Kevin Pillar’s ground ball.