The Sporting Green said the Giants won. Really?

On a night when they got pitching and little else the Giants finally found a clutch hit in a rare second-half win; and did they ever have to go searching for it. Little-used and oft-forgotten Kelby Tomlinson punched a ninth-inning RBI single to give San Francisco a 3-2 victory Tuesday at that purgatory known as Coors Field.

Hey, you celebrate your way ...

In true Giants fashion, Tomlinson got the hit only after failing miserably to lay down a bunt. Still, it all worked out for a struggling team in desperate need of a break, any break, and it tries to halt a two-month skid.

With the Dodgers still a full four games ahead in the NL West (they rolled Arizona, 5-2); the Giants (74-64) must keep a steady gaze on the Wild Card race.  Tuesday’s win held their slim lead over the Cardinals for the top spot at a half-game with the Mets lurking a game behind.

Denver hasn’t exactly been a fun visit for the Giants. Be it the altitude or ballpark or some kind of allergy to whatever they put in John Elway’s feed bag, bad things seem to happen in that beautifully crafted Hell Hole. It has played small this time around thanks to an unseasonable win that arrived just in time to turn some well struck balls into warning track power.

One man who doesn’t seem bothered by Coors is Jeff Samardzija, who started the contest with a 2.01 ERA while swatting away gathering cumulus up there in the stratosphere. The Shark struck out nineRockies for the second time this year, allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings. Believe it or not, that actually raised his Colorado ERA to 2.15, but it’s still the best among active pitchers who have thrown at least two dozen frames there.

And he didn’t figure in the decision. Yep, that’s Giants Baseball in 2016.

The 'good' Shark showed up on Tuesday. (AP Photo)

Samardzija was matched by upstart Tyler Anderson, who gave up the same two runs (okay, not exactly the same two runs but the same number of runs) over 7 1/3 innings. He scattered six hits and walked a pair while striking out two. He’s an outlier, hurling a 3.04 ERA in the band box compared to 4.21 on the road. Facing a Giants team that hadn’t had half a dozen hits in any game on the road trip wasn't likely to upset those numbers.

But Anderson made a mistake in the third, a 1-2 changeup that Eduardo Nunez smacked 400-plus-feet to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. The bolt ended a disappointing streak of 19 scoreless innings and 122 at-bats without a long ball. Hurray! Oh, wait….it didn’t last.

In a season where San Francisco keeps find creative way to fail, they found yet another. Standing at second base with two down, Raimel Tapia never stopped running on DJ LeMahieu’s grounder up the middle. Brandon Crawford knocked down the ball with a dive and popped to his knees ready to throw. The ball didn’t cooperate, shooting out of Crawford’s grip and into left field, allowing Tapia to tie the game and giving the guys at NLB Network another possibility for the blooper reel at season’s end.

The starters were gone when the Giants tied it in the eighth, although Anderson hadn’t found the bench yet. Gorkys Hernandez and Trevor Brown singled to lead off the inning. Ehire Adrianza laid down a rare bunt, Bruce Bochy hates bunt (bumper sticker?), to pit the runners in scoring position and Nunez grounded out to shortstop against just-entered reliever Jordan Lyles to score Hernandez.

We don't need another hero...yes we do. Thanks, Tina. (AP Photo)

Then the Giants did something unusual: they scored in the ninth when it mattered.  Rockies closer Adam Ottavino found some of the bad luck that has plagued the Giants. A throwing error put Buster Posey on base and Hunter Pence followed with an infield single. Boone Logan almost wiggled off the hook, getting the next two hitters before Tomlinson, who still gets his mail in Sacramento, delivered.

Santiago Casilla then did what Santiago Casilla does, putting fans on the edges of their seats before a double play ended the contest.

The Giants didn’t exactly tear the cover off the ball but they did have eight hits, including some that did leave the infield. There were still just 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position and no batter had more than one hit. Somehow it worked out.

Will Smith, Sergio Romo and Javy Lopez each working a third of the eighth before turning the game over to Casilla, giving more ammo to the anti-matchup crowd. Walks by Smith and Casilla were the only blemishes. Lopez picked up the win, his first of the year, in relief. Casilla notched the 31stof what should be 38 saves.

San Francisco hopes to build a modest two game-winning streak; if you call two games a streak, and at this point we will.

Albert Suarez (3-3, 4.29 ERA) gets his third start since replacing Matt Cain in the rotation, and so far he’s done his part – his last outing was a three-hit, five-inning  performance against the Cubs – but the offense hasn’t been there to back him.  Jorge De La Rosa (8-7, 4.88 ERA) gets the nod for Colorado. He’s struggled to the point of eight runs allowed over his last 10 innings covering two starts, meaning he’ll either get thumped or look like Sandy Koufax. Stay tuned.

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