Giants at Rockies
San Francisco prevailed in the series opener despite not having Buster Posey in the lineup, but the top active hitter at Coors Field is expected back Wednesday as the Giants visit the Colorado Rockies for the middle contest of their three-game set. Posey, who is hitting .396 in Denver, suffered a bruised right foot Sunday and watched as his backup - rookie Trevor Brown - belted two home runs in Tuesday's 7-2 victory.
“If this was September, he’d be catching,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy told reporters about Posey before Tuesday's game. “He bruised it pretty good. He’s pretty sore. He needs a break.” Eleven players have belted 17 home runs during the Giants' 6-2 start after San Francisco hit 14 in 22 April contests last season. Colorado (3-5) lowered its major league-worst ERA to 7.84 but didn't receive any magic from rookie shortstop Trevor Story, who went 0-for-4 on Tuesday after setting major-league records with seven home runs in the first six games of his career and in the first six contests of a season. The Giants' Jake Peavy and the Rockies' Jordan Lyles take the mound in a matchup of right-handers looking to improve on their season-opening performances.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area Plus (San Francisco), ROOT (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Jake Peavy (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Jordan Lyles (0-1, 13.50)
Peavy received a no-decision after permitting four runs and 10 hits in five innings of a 12-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. The 34-year-old Alabama native is 7-7 with a 3.90 ERA in 22 starts versus Colorado, including 5-4, 4.98 in 11 turns at Coors Field. Peavy struggles with Nolan Arenado (5-for-11, home run, two doubles) but has fared well versus Charlie Blackmon (2-for-13) and Carlos Gonzalez (0-for-7).
Lyles yielded five runs, seven hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings of a 13-6 loss to San Diego on Friday, falling to 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA in 13 April starts. "There was certainly a lot of adrenaline early, and his velocity showed it," Rockies manager Walt Weiss told reporters about the 25-year-old South Carolinian. "He was running up to about 96 (mph), but for whatever reason, the command got away from him." Lyles is 1-2 with a 5.81 ERA in five starts against San Francisco, including a 10-8 loss last May 23 in which he yielded six runs (five earned) in four innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Brown has hit three home runs in eight at-bats this year after not homering in 39 at-bats last season - his first in the majors.
2. Colorado 2B DJ LeMahieu (.462) has hit safely in every game this season, recording two hits in each of the first five contests and one in the last two.
3. The Giants are on pace to break the club record of 39 home runs in April set by the 1996 team.