Rockies at Giants
San Francisco shortstop Brandon Crawford is as soft-spoken as they come, but his bat is making plenty of noise this month. Crawford is batting a major league-best .449 in May for the Giants, who look to salvage a split of their four-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies on Sunday.
Crawford went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in Saturday’s 9-4 win over the Rockies and is 15-for-26 during his seven-game hitting streak. Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Miguel Gomez and Evan Longoria each added two hits in Saturday’s victory while Andrew McCutchen doubled twice, singled and had two RBI before leaving with a bruised knee. The Rockies fell to 3-2 on their nine-game road trip but received another encouraging performance from first baseman Ian Desmond, who has been mired in a season-long slump but is 3-for-6 with a home run and four RBIs over his last two games. “I’ve been in this position so many times. You just have to go,” Desmond told reporters. “Once it gets going, it gets going. It’s pretty much how it’s been my whole career. I don’t know why, but sometimes I just get in these funks and snap out of them and put them behind me, and that’s what I’m hopeful for here.”
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado), NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies LH Tyler Anderson (3-1, 4.30 ERA) vs. Giants LH Ty Blach (3-4, 4.05)
Anderson won for the second time in his last three starts last Monday, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits across 5 2/3 innings in a 6-4 victory over San Diego. Colorado is 5-1 in his past six starts, with Anderson posting a 3.64 ERA during that stretch. The 28-year-old native of Las Vegas is 0-2 with a 4.67 ERA in three career starts versus San Francisco, including 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in two outings at A&T Park.
Blach received a no-decision against Cincinnati last Tuesday, when he allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits over four innings. The 27-year-old native of Denver has a 26-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 53 1/3 innings and has pitched six frames or fewer in nine of his 10 starts. Nolan Arenado is 7-for-11 against Blach, who is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA in seven career games (three starts) against Colorado while holding Charlie Blackmon hitless in 12 at-bats.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Francisco closer Hunter Strickland is 9-for-11 in save opportunities and has converted each of his last seven chances.
2. Arenado has reached base in 27 of his last 28 games.
3. Giants RHP Mark Melancon (forearm) is expected to begin a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Sacramento on Monday.