Giants Sweep Rockies With 8-3 Win
The Colorado Rockies (38-68) were swept for the second time in the last three series, the latest as a result of yesterday’s 8-3 loss to the visiting San Francisco Giants (59-49), leaving Colorado 1-8 in their last nine home games. With the hopes that the road will be kinder, the Rockies open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers (59-50) tonight at 8:10 MT at Dodger Stadium (TV: Root Sports).
Most everything about the Rockies’ season is going in the wrong direction for the team. They came home with a .358 winning percentage, on pace to lose 100 games. After nine days at Coors Field, they’ve dropped 23 percentage points, and a team that’s never lost more than 95 games in a season is now on pace to lose 104.
Starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood, who was called up from Double-A Tulsa yesterday, battled his control, but allowed only one earned run in 3 1/3 innings. A first-inning error when third baseman Jordan Pacheco bobbled a potential double-play grounder from Ryan Theriot accounted for a pair of unearned runs in the first frame, giving San Francisco the lead it would never relinquish.
Chatwood gave up one more run in the top of the fourth after walking Marco Scutaro and Hector Sanchez to open the inning. He issued four free passes on the day, bringing his pitch total to 76 before the fourth inning was over and prompting manager Jim Tracy’s move to the bullpen under his four-man rotation, 75-pitch approach.
Carlos Torres kept it close, allowing one more run in his 2 2/3-inning piggyback performance behind the starter, but the ultimate five-run margin of defeat only highlighted the difficulty in winning nine-inning games with a team currently composed for about six innings of competitive play.
“We stranded 13 runners and we were unable to take advantage of nine base on balls that they surrendered,” Tracy said. “We left people out there today, no question about it.”
The Rockies got an early run off Tim Lincecum when Todd Helton doubled in the first inning and later scored on Pacheco’s single up the middle. Despite walking his second batter of the inning to load the bases, Lincecum escaped the jam with a Wilin Rosario fly to right.
Lincecum matched his season high with five walks, always a recipe for disaster at Coors Field, yet he finished with his seventh game allowing just one run or less, leaving the Rockies little time to mount a comeback.
Official: Sunday’s Box Score.
In the top of the seventh, Matt Belisle climbed the hill and gave up three runs on four hits to double the Giants’ lead.
The Rockies were poised to answer with a big bottom of the seventh inning, loading the bases with one out before Sergio Romo came in and struck out pinch-hitter Matt McBride and Rosario with seven pitches — all sliders, all strikes — to end the threat.
Tickets are available for the Rockies’ next home game at Coors Field vs. the Milwaukee Brewers on August 13th, and can be purchased by calling (800) 388-ROCK, or click here.
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