Chatwood, Rockies hurt Giants' playoff chances
SAN FRANCISCO -- Right-hander Tyler Chatwood continued his brilliant pitching on the road, limiting the San Francisco Giants to three hits over eight shutout innings in the Colorado Rockies' 2-0 victory Wednesday night.
Nolan Arenado and Gerardo Parra drove in runs against hard-luck loser Jeff Samardzija as the Rockies snapped a five-game losing streak while denying the Giants an opportunity to improve upon their chances of landing a National League wild-card spot.
The Giants (83-75) fell 1 1/2 games behind the New York Mets (85-74) in the chase for the top wild-card spot just four days remaining in the regular season. However, San Francisco retained a one-game advantage over the St. Louis Cardinals (82-76) for the final postseason berth.
Chatwood improved his road record to 8-1 and lowered his road ERA to 1.69 with his fourth combined shutout of the season. He walked two and struck out nine.
Left-hander Boone Logan served up a double to pinch hitter Kelby Tomlinson to lead off the ninth, then struck out the next two batters he faced, pinch hitter Gorkys Hernandez and Denard Span.
However, Logan failed to cover first base in a timely manner on Brandon Belt's grounder to first baseman Parra that could have ended the game, allowing Belt to reach safely and putting the potential tying run on base.
Right-hander Adam Ottavino then took over and got Buster Posey to ground out to third base on a full count for his sixth save.
Chatwood's .889 road winning is tied with Rich Hill of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals and Aaron Sanchez of the Toronto Blue Jays for the best in baseball.
The 1.69 road ERA is the lowest in the majors, followed by Hill's 1.74.
Chatwood (12-9) allowed leadoff singles to Span, Hunter Pence and Conor Gillaspie in the first three innings, but only two other baserunners -- walks to Belt and Brandon Crawford, both of which were followed immediately by double-play grounders -- before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth.
Chatwood outdueled Samardzija (12-11), who struck out a season-best 11 in six innings.
The Rockies got seven hits off Samardzija, including two apiece in the fourth and seventh innings to produce the game's only scoring.
Samardzija, who walked just one, was pulled after allowing a double to David Dahl and an RBI single to Parra at the start of the seventh inning, which extended the Colorado lead to 2-0.
The Rockies loaded the bases against the San Francisco bullpen in the eighth, but Hunter Strickland kept the Giants within arm's length by getting Parra to fly out to right field.
Carlos Gonzalez had three hits, including a double, and Charlie Blackmon added two hits for the Rockies, who had lost 18 of their previous 23 road games.
Colorado out-hit San Francisco 9-5.
The Giants, who exploded for 19 hits in a 12-3 thumping of the Rockies in the series opener Tuesday, were shut out for the 12th time this season, the eighth time since the All-Star break.
Samardzija struck out 10 of the first 18 batters he faced, but back-to-back hits put him in a 1-0 hole in the fourth inning.
Actually, it almost took just one hit to do the damage, as Gonzalez missed a home run by about a foot with a blast off the left field wall with one out in the fourth.
Arenado followed with a broken-bat blooper to center, a single that produced his 130th RBI when Gonzalez scampered home.
The Giants had two of their first four baserunners erased on stolen-base attempts. It marked the first time Rockies catcher Tony Wolters threw out two potential base-stealers in the same game this season.
NOTES: Rockies manager Walt Weiss kept 2B DJ LeMahieu, the National League's leading hitter, out of the starting lineup and said he would continue to do so if it meant protecting his advantage over Washington Nationals 2B Daniel Murphy. ... Giants manager Bruce Bochy has not announced a starting pitcher for the Saturday game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. RHP Albert Suarez and LHP Ty Blach are being considered. ... Bochy said he considered 3B Eduardo Nunez (strained hamstring) questionable for the rest of the week. ... Former Giants 3B Matt Duffy visited the San Francisco clubhouse before the game to pick up belongings left behind when he was dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline. Duffy has been in Southern California rehabbing after heel surgery.