Rockies 8, Giants 6
SAN FRANCISCO -- Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez returned to the starting lineup with five hits, including a tie-breaking double in a three-run seventh inning, and third baseman Nolan Arenado belted two home runs, propelling the Colorado Rockies to an 8-6 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a three-game series Friday night.
The last-place Rockies, who swept a three-game series at AT&T Park in April, made it seven wins in 10 games against the defending World Series champs this season.
Gonzalez, who hadn't started since spraining his left hand during an at-bat last Sunday, contributed a triple, double and three singles to a 17-hit attack that helped the Rockies begin a 10-game trip on a positive note.
Colorado has now won five of its last six.
After San Francisco had rallied into a 3-3 tie with a two-run sixth, Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon singled with one out in the seventh against Giants starter Tim Hudson.
A two-out walk to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki set the stage for Gonzalez, who greeted left-handed reliever Javier Lopez with a liner down the right-field line that plated Blackmon with the go-ahead run.
The Giants then elected to intentionally walk Arenado, who had belted a three-run homer in the previous inning. But the strategy failed when first baseman Ben Paulsen, like Gonzalez a left-handed hitter, grounded a two-run single to increase the Colorado lead to 6-3.
Gonzalez's triple came with two outs in the ninth, after which he scored on a passed ball on Giants catcher Andrew Susac for a 7-3 lead.
Arenado followed with his second homer, a solo shot, to complete the Rockies' scoring. The pair of home runs gave him 22 on the season and helped extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
The two-homer game was Arenado's second in four days. He also hit a pair Tuesday against Arizona.
Gonzalez matched a career-best with five hits. He had accomplished the feat three times previously. He also scored three runs.
Right-hander Chad Bettis (4-2), who allowed the two-run sixth that got the Giants even, got the win. He allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Paulsen finished with three hits, and Tulowitzki, catcher Nick Hundley and left fielder Brandon Barnes added a pair apiece for the Rockies.
Hudson (5-7), who reportedly will go on the disabled list next week when right-hander Matt Cain returns from the DL, took the loss. He was roughed up for 10 hits and five runs in 6 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out six.
Susac smacked a home run, his second, and second baseman Joe Panik had a double and two singles for the Giants, highlighting a nine-hit attack.
Thanks to wildness by the Rockies' fifth pitcher, right-hander Tommy Kahnle, San Francisco made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, scoring three runs to get within 8-6.
But after walking three batters, throwing a wild pitch and allowing run-scoring hits to center fielder Gregor Blanco and Panik, Kahnle struck out third baseman Matt Duffy and catcher Buster Posey with the potential tying runs on base.
The Giants' loss snapped a two-game winning streak. They haven't won three in a row since May 19-21.
The Giants had only one hit -- a one-out double in the first inning by Panik -- before Susac's homer in the fifth.
Hudson, meanwhile, stranded five baserunners -- four in scoring position -- in the second and third innings alone. Gonzalez's first two hits came in those innings.
NOTES: Giants CF Angel Pagan (bruised left knee) was not in the starting lineup while the club awaited results of X-rays and an MRI taken earlier in the day. ... Giants RHP Matt Cain (strained flexor muscle in right arm) came through his final injury-rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento healthy and is expected to be activated off the disabled list next week. ... The Giants began the day by placing LHP Jeremy Affeldt (stiffness in his left shoulder) on the DL, replacing him on the active roster with RHP Mike Broadway, who was recalled from Sacramento. ... Before the game, the Rockies activated RHP Rafael Betancourt (sinus infection and vertigo) from the DL and sent RHP Justin Miller to Triple-A Albuquerque. Miller had been the winning pitcher in the Rockies' 6-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. ... The Rockies also announced before the game that LHP Jorge De La Rosa, who had be pulled from Thursday's game in the sixth inning after reopening a cut on his left middle finger, has been bandaged up and is not expected to miss his next scheduled start.