Rockies at Giants
The Colorado Rockies opened a brief two-game set at the San Francisco Giants with a 3-2 loss on Monday, but the news could have been much worse. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left the game after being hit on his left leg by a foul ball in the dugout, but X-rays were negative and he’s listed as day-to-day. The Rockies lost their fourth straight game despite a stellar effort by Christian Friedrich, who became the first pitcher in team history to record 10 or more strikeouts in one of his first two appearances.
The Giants have won three straight for the first time since April 17-20, and they’re getting a surprising boost from leadoff hitter Gregor Blanco. The speedy outfielder hit his third career homer in 901 career plate appearances Monday, and he’s 5-for-9 with four RBIs in his last two games. The Giants’ bullpen has also performed well despite the absence of closer Brian Wilson, who’s out for the year with an elbow injury. Sergio Romo extended his scoreless streak to 13 appearances covering 10 1/3 innings in Monday’s win.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Colorado), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jeremy Guthrie (2-1, 5.92 ERA) vs. Giants RH Tim Lincecum (2-3, 5.89 ERA)
Guthrie is making his first start since landing on the disabled list with a right shoulder sprain in late April. Guthrie, who has allowed opponents to hit just .146 (7-for-48) in his two road starts this season, is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in two career starts against the Giants.
Lincecum allowed six runs over 2 1/3 innings when he faced Colorado on April 11, and he’s 8-6 with a 3.69 ERA in 18 career starts against the Rockies. Tulowitzki is 8-for-40 with eight strikeouts against Lincecum, who has a 41/19 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 36 2/3 innings this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Giants have won 10 of their last 12 games against the Rockies at AT&T Park dating to 2010.
2. Tuesday’s game is the last matchup between Colorado and San Francisco until August. The teams will play 13 times during the final two months of the season.
3. Giants second baseman Freddy Sanchez has suffered another setback in his rehab and will have an MRI exam on his lower back this week.