Rockies rally for 4-3 win that turned bizarre in the bottom of the ninth

Rockies Report, Game 96:

Mickey Moniak, Troy Johnston and Jake McCarthy loaded the bases with a single, a walk and a perfectly-placed bunt, respectively.

Karros’ RBI allowed the Rockies to capitalize off a bases-loaded, no-out situation. One batter later, Cole Carrigg drove in another run off a sacrifice fly. And that proved massive after an unusual sequence of events in San Francisco’s half of the ninth.

The Giants mounted a rally against Colorado reliever Jordan Romano, working in a save situation for the third time this month. With runners on first and second and one out, Casey Schmitt hit a line drive to center field that Cole Carrigg dove to procure.

No out call on the field appeared to be made initially, and Carrigg threw back to the infield, where both second and first bases were tagged, as the runners did not move. Finally, in advance of a crew-chief spurred review, umpire Lance Barksdale indicated that the on-field call was out. But video showed the ball hitting the ground in Carrigg’s glove, and the call was reversed to a base hit.

The two tagged bases for the runners not moving means that technically, the game should have ended on a double play. But because no umpire made an initial signal that Carrigg caught the ball — despite the fact that the on-field ruling was a catch — all runners moved up 90 feet.

“They place the runners where they think they should be … even through they were going back to tag,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I just feel like there have been some calls that have been not great lately on replay. Which is OK. Everybody makes mistakes.”

loading the bases for Rafael Devers, who drove in a run via a sacrifice fly to Carrigg.

Romano subsequently walked Rafael Devers to load the bases, and with Romano’s pitch count reaching 35, Schaeffer inserted Juan Mejia to get the 27th out. He needed just one pitch to do so, preserving the win.

Colorado improved to 39-57.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

After working a 1-2-3 first inning, Gordon spent much of the following four innings creating and extricating himself from jams. Only a Devers solo home run prevented Gordon from what would have been just the second scoreless start of his major-league career, which spans 28 starts overall.

Gordon left the bases loaded in the third inning and stranded two in the fourth. He gave up eight hits in his night of work — but issued just one walk, and it was an intentional free pass. He finished with a no-decision, but with that single walk, he has now allowed just five in five starts this season.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Mejia threw one pitch that was grounded to Edouard Julien for the final out.

NUMBER TO NOTE: .346 — Karros’ batting average since June 1.

WHAT’S NEXT: Kyle Freeland gets his final start before the All-Star break. Tyler Mahle will take the mound for the Giants. First pitch from Oracle Park is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. MDT.