Rockies 11, Giants 2
DENVER -- Nolan Arenado four hits and four RBIs while finishing a double shy of the cycle, and Chad Bettis took a shutout into the ninth inning as the Colorado Rockies walloped the San Francisco Giants 11-2 Sunday.
Arenado, who also scored three runs, emphatically broke out of a slump as he tripled, singled and homered in his first three at-bats and singled in his fourth, tying his career high with his fifth four-hit game. He flied to center in the eighth in his final at-bat to finish 4-for-5.
The Rockies managed a split of the four-game series while earning back-to-back victories for the first time since they won three straight games April 22-24.
Bettis (1-0) pitched 8 1/3 innings, the longest outing by a Rockies starter this season. He had never pitched more than six innings in any of his 10 previous career starts, including two this year after the Rockies recalled him 10 days ago from Triple-A Albuquerque.
Giants left fielder Nori Aoki lined Bettis' first pitch just past his head and up the middle for a single. Bettis retired the next 11 batters he faced before walking first baseman Buster Posey in the fourth, moments before the Rockies blew the game open.
Colorado sent 11 batters to the plate and erupted for eight runs in the fourth, including five with two outs, and built a 9-0 lead. In the process, the Rockies knocked out San Francisco starter Tim Hudson (2-4).
Catcher Nick Hundley and second baseman Daniel Descalso singled home runs, and Bettis' groundout brought home another. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki drove in two runs with a bases-loaded, two-out single that finished Hudson.
Reliever Jean Machi entered, and Arenado drove his first pitch over the wall in left. It was Arenado's eighth homer of the season.
Arenado entered the game with just three hits in 27 at-bats. He opened the second with his first triple of the season, a line drive into the gap in left-center, and scored to make it 1-0 when first baseman Ben Paulsen grounded out.
Hudson owns 216 wins in his long career, but none of those victories came at Coors Field. Over 10 starts in Denver, Hudson is 0-3 with a 7.69 ERA.
Bettis finished with 104 pitches, 77 strikes as he gave up six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. After Aoki's leadoff single, Bettis did not yield another hit until third baseman Matt Duffy began the eighth with a single. Aoki opened the ninth with a double and scored when second baseman Joe Panik followed with a single.
Manager Walt Weiss visited the mound after first baseman Buster Posey's single and left Bettis in the game. however, when first baseman Brandon Belt followed with a run-scoring double, Weiss turned to right-hander Brooks Brown to finish the game.
NOTES: Giants 3B Casey McGehee was designated for assignment. RHP Hunter Strickland, who was the 26th man on San Francisco's roster for Saturday's doubleheader, was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento after the second game and then recalled Sunday, taking McGehee's roster spot. ... Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki played in his 1,000th major league game in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. ... If Rockies RHP Jordan Lyles, who left the first game of Saturday's game with a sprained left big toe, is unable to make his next scheduled start Friday at Philadelphia, RHP David Hale would replace him. ... The game started 2 hours, 10 minutes late due to a weather delay.