SAN FRANCISCO — Eddie Butler sat silently in the shade of the Rockies’ dugout Sunday when Giants fans showered his counterpart, Jeff “Shark” Samardzija, with a standing ovation.
“The things he did,” Butler said. “That guy is filthy.”
Butler’s exit an inning earlier drew no fanfare. No one called him filthy.
All he did was win. Butler shut out San Francisco through six innings and Nolan Arenado tripled to score Trevor Story in the first inning as the Rockies edged the Giants 2-0 in front of 41,593 fans at AT&T Park.
The Rockies had never before finished above .500 on a 10-game road trip in their division, but they went 6-4 this time at Arizona, San Diego and San Francisco. The last time they got through a three-city West Coast trip on the winning side was in 2009, when they won six in series against the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers.
“It’s huge,” Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu said. “The division is up for grabs. I know it’s May. But no one is tearing it up right now. The way we’re playing, the pitching we’re getting, I can see us going on a hot streak real soon.”
Arenado added a single and a double, Gerardo Parra bloop-singled in a run in the third and Jake McGee closed out a three-batter ninth inning as the Rockies (15-16) moved to one game behind the Giants (17-16) and Dodgers (16-15).
The Rockies quietly and confidently got through some of the best arms in the division during the road trip.
“We feel really confident on the road right now,” Colorado center fielder Charlie Blackmon said. “As long as I’ve been here, we haven’t had as many good outings on the road.”
Butler pitched his six shutout innings on 92 pitches against the Giants. He struck out six with a “bread and butter” two-seam breaking fastball. He walked just one (plus one more intentionally). Samardzija got through 7 innings and struck out nine, but he gave up eight hits and two runs.
On Saturday, Rockies rookie Jon Gray threw seven shutout innings of his own, but the Giants won 2-1 in 13 innings.
“We’re going to have a lot closer games with the arms we have,” Butler said. “You give this team a lead going into the seventh, you’re feeling pretty good with our bullpen.”
Story doubled to left off Samardzija in the first inning before Arenado tripled to right to bring him in. And Parra’s bloop single to left field in the third pushed Carlos Gonzalez home from second base.
Already assured of at least a .500 road trip, Colorado on Sunday played cat-and-mouse. In a crucial eighth, rookie right-hander Carlos Estevez worked two quick outs, then walked Joe Panik and Matt Duffy, the second on a full-count fastball that just missed low. Chad Qualls, though, mopped up by forcing Buster Posey to fly out to right.
The Diamondbacks and defending NL champion New York Mets are on the Rockies’ docket this week at Coors Field, where high-elevation games can strain a bullpen.
But Colorado manager Walt Weiss pulled out the stops to steal a road win in San Francisco. Four relievers cycled through after Butler to shut down the Giants: Boone Logan (one inning, two K’s), Carlos Estevez, Qualls and McGee.
“If the game is on the line, I’m gonna match up,” Weiss said.
The Rockies return home with an 11-8 mark outside the Mountain time zone. The’ve only once finished a season with a winning road record, in 2009, when they went 41-40.
In 12 games through April, though, the Rockies are 4-8 in Denver.
“It’s almost like we’re playing better on the road than we are at home,” Arenado said. “That’s kind of weird.”
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or @nickgroke
Road cheery
After a victory Sunday at San Francisco, the Rockies finished above .500 on a 10-game, National League West road trip for the first time. How it happened:
At Arizona … Starting pitcher … IP … ER
W, 9-0 … Tyler Chatwood … 6 … 0
W, 5-2 … Chris Rusin … 5 … 0
W, 6-3 … Chad Bettis … 6 … 3
At San Diego … Starting pitcher … IP … ER
L, 2-1 … Jon Gray … 6 … 2
L, 6-3 … Eddie Butler … 5 … 5
W, 2-0 … Tyler Chatwood … 8 … 0
At San Francisco … Starting pitcher … IP … ER
W, 17-7 … Chris Rusin … 4 … 7
L, 6-4 … Chad Bettis … 6 … 5
L, 2-1 (13) … Jon Gray … 7 … 0
W, 2-0 … Eddie Butler … 6 … 0
Totals … Score … IP … ER … ERA
6-4 … 50-38 … 60 … 22 … 3.30
