San Francisco couldn’t solve Josh Fogg early. Late in the game, though, the San Francisco Giants figured him out.
Fogg took a no-hitter into the sixth inning at Coors Field only to see it evaporate, and the Giants’ Tim Lincecum earned his first major-league victory in San Francisco’s 8-3 win over the Rockies on Friday night.
Ray Durham’s sacrifice fly to deep right in the eighth with the bases loaded scored the go-ahead run for the Giants.
San Francisco teed off on the Rockies’ bullpen once Fogg had been lifted. The Giants had four hits against Fogg and seven off the bullpen.
San Francisco scored four runs in the ninth, including Fred Lewis’ two-run single to give the Giants a 6-3 lead. They sent 10 batters to the plate.
Hard-throwing Lincecum (1-0) gave up seven hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked one in his second major-league start.
Lincecum was roughed up in his debut against Philadelphia on Sunday, giving up five runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked five and struck out five. Lincecum was called up that day to take the place of Russ Ortiz, who was placed on the disabled list.
Fogg (1-4) lasted 7 1/3 innings and gave up four runs. He left in the eighth with a 3-2 lead, runners on first and second and one out. Rich Aurilia’s single off Zach McClellan scored the tying run.
Daniel Ortmeier’s slicing double into the right-field corner in the sixth was the first hit off Fogg.
Until Ortmeier’s hit, the closest any San Francisco hitter came to solving Fogg was Aurilia’s one-hopper off third baseman John Mabry’s glove in the fourth. The play was originally ruled a hit but the scorer changed it to an error.
The Giants scored two runs in the seventh on back-to-back RBI doubles by Bengie Molina and Pedro Feliz.
Just 11 days ago, San Francisco scored five runs in five innings off Fogg. He had better command of his pitches Friday night, even freezing Barry Bonds on a called third strike in the seventh. Bonds stood in the batter’s box and shook his head at home-plate umpire Adam Dowdy’s call.
Dowdy had a questionable call in the Rockies’ half of the seventh when he called Fogg out for running outside of the baseline on a bunt. Replays showed he was inside the line. The Rockies would have had runners on the corners with one out.
Todd Helton hit a solo shot to right off Lincecum in the sixth.
