The Coors Shield rescued the Rockies on Friday night.
Behind another stellar performance from Nolan Arenado and Co., the Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4 at Coors Field. It was the Rockies’ third win in a row, and fourth straight over the Giants this season.
“I think that game could have gone a different direction four or five different times,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “The defense was a big reason why we kept it on our side. Nolan, it seems like almost nightly he does something to change the game defensively.”
PHOTOS:
The Rockies took command of the see-saw affair with a three-run sixth inning, sparked by a leadoff, opposite-field double to left by the struggling Carlos Gonzalez. CarGo entered the night hitting .175 after going hitless in his last 16 at-bats.
Gonzalez scored on a double by DJ LeMahieu, who scored on a double by pinch-hitter Rafael Ynoa, who scored on Corey Dickerson’ single. That chain of hits turned a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 lead.
Starter Eddie Butler, saved by the gloves behind him, pitched just well enough over six innings to keep the Rockies in the game and improved to 2-1. He kept his wildness largely in check — two walks, one intentional — but the Giants scored four runs on nine hits. It could have been a lot more.
“I was mediocre,” Butler said. “I did enough to get by. Some pitches were in the middle of the zone and I got behind some guys. I also had some times when I got ahead and got guys out fairly easily. It wasn’t great, but it was enough to win.”
Arenado’s spectacular double play in the fourth combined his athleticism and baseball smarts. With no outs and Giants perched on first and second, Casey Mc- Gehee rocketed a shot just inside the third-base line. Arenado made a diving stop, stepped on third base to force out Brandon Belt and in the same motion fired across the diamond to nip McGehee at first. Had the baseball eluded Arenado, McGehee would have had a two-run double. Instead, Butler got out of the inning unscathed.
“I went to the ball a little weird, because it had a lot of spin,” Arenado said. “That’s why I had to dive. (McGehee) hasn’t been running good, I know his foot is kind of messed up, so I just made the play. I knew I had a chance to get him.”
Arenado added to his Gold Glove résumé in the seventh, gobbling up Gregor Blanco’s dribbler and spinning 360 degrees to throw him out.
Center fielder Charlie Blackmon’s web gem came in the Giants’ third. He ran down Buster Posey’s line drive to right-center and made an on-target throw with enough mustard to double up a surprised Angel Pagan at first.
“It’s nice to know that when balls are hit, we always have a chance on the play,” Arenado said. “Even if it’s crushed in the gap, we always feel like somebody has a chance to make a play. Charlie’s double play was a huge momentum changer.”
Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless ninth — including inducing a game-ending double play (Colorado’s fourth of the game) — for his third save.
He has not allowed a run in his past 15 games, dating to Sept. 7, 2014. That’s 15 scoreless innings with just five hits, one walk and 17 strikeouts.
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or
Giants’ Tim Hudson (0-2, 3.93 ERA) vs. Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (0-1, 31.50), 6:10 p.m. Saturday, ROOT; 850 AM
Hudson, a crafty 39-year-old right-hander, knows the ins and outs of pitching. He keeps his cool. That’s why his last outing was so surprising. He lost his control in the third inning against the Diamondbacks and the Giants never recovered, losing 5-1 last Sunday. Hudson walked two batters and hit former Rockie Jordan Pacheco with the bases loaded to force in a run. Then he misfired on an 0-2 pitch to Chris Owings, who lined a two-run single to right, putting the Giants in a 5-1 hole. The Rockies faced Hudson on April 14 at San Francisco, winning 4-1. Hudson took the loss, pitching seven innings and allowing three runs on eight hits. Hudson had better be careful pitching to Corey Dickerson, who is 4-for-10 with a home run off him.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post Sunday: Giants’ Tim Lincecum (1-1, 2.00 ERA) vs. Rockies’ Tyler Matzek (1-0, 2.40), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Monday: Rockies’ Kyle Kendrick (1-2, 6.85) vs. Diamondbacks’ Chase Anderson (0-0, 3.00), 7:40 p.m., ROOT
Tuesday: Rockies’ Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.92) vs. Diamondbacks’ Archie Bradley (2-0, 1.45), 7:40 p.m., ROOT
