The San Francisco Giants were dealt a brutal reminder Thursday that no win is guaranteed in the majors. With first place in the NL West standings within reach, the Giants watched their seven-game winning streak vanish in stunning fashion after a crushing walk-off loss to the historically bad Colorado Rockies.

What should have been a statement road victory turned into a collapse. Leading 7-5 in the ninth, the Giants unraveled after reliever Randy Rodriguez allowed three runs, aided by a costly error from third baseman Casey Schmitt. With two outs, Colorado’s Orlando Arcia singled to left, scoring the winning runs and handing San Francisco an 8-7 loss in the Mile High City.

FOX Sports’ Ben Verlander emphasized the magnitude of the loss on X, formerly Twitter, pointing out that the Giants squandered a prime chance to enter Friday’s opener against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers tied for first place in the NL West.

“The Colorado Rockies walk-off the San Francisco Giants after entering the 9th inning down 2 runs.

“The Giants could’ve tied the Dodgers atop the NL West with a win ahead of their 3 game series starting tomorrow night.”

Had San Francisco held on, they would have traveled to Dodger Stadium tied atop the NL West. Instead, the Giants head into their biggest Dodgers series of the year one game back of Los Angeles—with the momentum now reset.

It was a tough pill to swallow for a team that had just rattled off seven straight wins and leads MLB in comeback victories. Dominic Smith gave the Giants a spark with his first home run in a San Francisco uniform, a towering three-run blast in the top of the fifth inning that extended their lead to five.

But the bullpen couldn’t close. The Giants vs. Rockies matchup flipped in the ninth as Colorado clawed back, recording just their 13th win of the season and avoiding a sweep. For a team that had gone 21-6 against sub-.500 opponents, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

The upcoming showdown with the Dodgers now carries even more weight. San Francisco will send Logan Webb, Landen Roupp, and Kyle Harrison to the mound in a pivotal three-game set. To reclaim ground in the division, they’ll need more late-inning composure and fewer defensive miscues.

Despite Thursday’s setback, the Giants remain firmly in the NL West race. But if they hope to surpass the defending World Series champion Dodgers, they’ll need to capitalize on every opportunity from here on out.