San Francisco – The City by the Bay has not been kind to the Rockies.
But Friday night at chilly AT&T Park, the Rockies rallied for one of their most impressive and encouraging wins of the season.
A ninth-inning rally, highlighted by RBI singles from Kazuo Matsui and Matt Holliday, lifted the Rockies to a 5-3 victory over the Giants. It marked just the second time this season the Rockies have won three straight games, and the first time since April 3-6.
While clutch hits in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings were key, Colorado’s pitching was superb, shutting out the Giants for eight straight innings. Closer Brian Fuentes notched his 14th save, while Ramon Ramirez and Jeremy Affeldt also blanked the Giants.
The Rockies tied the game in the eighth with a two-out double into left field by Brad Hawpe that scored Holliday from first. Hawpe’s hit came off left-handed reliever Jack Taschner. Hawpe entered the game hitting just .200 (7-for-35) against lefties.
San Francisco starter Matt Cain threw six dominant shutout innings before stumbling in the seventh as Colorado closed the gap to 3-2. Cain walked Hawpe, served up a single to Troy Tulowitzki and a pinch-hit RBI single by to Ryan Spilborghs. It was Spilborghs’ third RBI in the past two games. Cain was replaced by Brad Hennessey, who was greeted by a run-scoring single by Willy Taveras.
Save for one bad inning, Rockies starter Jason Hirsh held his ground, allowing three runs on just five hits in six innings.
In the first, however, Hirsh’s wildness, a key double by Ray Durham and bad luck added up to three Giants’ runs. They loaded the bases with a leadoff single by Randy Winn, followed by walks to Rich Aurilia and Ryan Klesko. Winn scored on a groundball double play by Barry Bonds, and Aurilia scored on Durham’s double.
The third run arrived with an assist from the tricky winds at AT&T Park. Bengie Molina hit an infield popup, which the Rockies turned into a Keystone Kops routine. The fluttering flyball landed safely near first baseman Todd Helton. Molina, sprinting all the way, scored from second.
Lopez on track
Rodrigo Lopez is penciled in to start Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals at Coors Field. Lopez pitched 62/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits Thursday night for Triple-A Colorado Springs.
“He was efficient with his pitches. His command was pretty good and he worked both sides of the plate,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “& We’ll basically see how he feels and then decide.”
Fogg forecast
As expected, right-hander Josh Fogg (groin) will miss his scheduled start Sunday, but after a short workout Friday, Fogg is confident he’s healing and might be ready to pitch by the end of next week. That means he won’t be heading to the disabled list.
“I really feel pretty good,” he said. “I’ll get on the mound and give it a test Sunday, throw some bullpen and see how it feels.”
Taking Fogg’s spot in the rotation on Sunday against the Giants will be Taylor Buchholz.
Tulo’s gem
Tulowitzki added another clip to his highlight reel. In the second inning, he tracked down Fred Lewis’ grounder behind second base, whirled 360 degrees and threw a one-hopper to Helton, just nipping the speedy Lewis for the out.
Atkins’ slump
A fourth-inning at-bat characterized Garrett Atkins’ frustrating season. He hit a sharp line drive only to see Durham snare it and double Helton off second base for a double play. Atkins went 0-for-5, dropping his average to .221. He is batting just .171 (18-for-105) over his last 26 games.
Staff writer Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
