Giants at Rockies (Game 2)
The San Francisco Giants have a bit of pep in their step after winning three straight road series and eight of 10 games overall, but the club has often stumbled when visiting the Colorado Rockies. The Giants have lost 19 of their last 22 games at Coors Field entering Monday's doubleheader against the Rockies.
Brandon Belt highlighted his second multi-hit performance in three games by launching a solo homer in San Francisco's 8-3 win over Milwaukee on Sunday. The 31-year-old, however, is just 5-for-25 with six strikeouts in the season series versus Colorado. While the Giants featured a six-run seventh inning on Sunday, the Rockies plated half a dozen in the fifth in their 10-9 win over Cincinnati. Ryan McMahon went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the series finale to increase his hit total to 12 in his last nine games, although he is 0-for-18 with 12 strikeouts versus San Francisco.
TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Dereck Rodriguez (3-5, 5.27 ERA) vs. Rockies TBD
Rodriguez, who is the son of Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, is expected to be summoned as the team's 26th man to start the nightcap. The 27-year-old was shuffled to Class A Advanced San Jose last week with Triple-A Sacramento on break, and he allowed two runs on four hits and struck out nine over 4 2/3 innings on Wednesday. Rodriguez permitted one hit over two scoreless innings and struck out one in a relief role against Colorado on June 26.
Colorado has yet to publicly show its hand for the nightcap, although it is expected to reach out to Triple-A Albuquerque and recall either Chi Chi Gonzalez (0-1, 6.00 ERA) or fellow right-hander Jeff Hoffman (1-3, 6.75). The 27-year-old Gonzalez allowed three runs in each of his two starts with the Rockies, including a five-inning stint that saw him issue four walks before exiting after 94 pitches in a 4-2 setback versus the Giants on June 25. The 26-year-old Hoffman also walked four batters in his last outing with Colorado on June 20, although he kept the ball in the park in that stint after surrendering seven homers in his previous five trips to the mound.
WALK-OFFS
1. Monday's doubleheader is a result of the teams' game on May 8 being postponed by rain.
2. San Francisco 2B-SS Donovan Solano drove in a pair of runs on Sunday and is 4-for-10 with two RBIs against Colorado this season.
3. Rockies RF Charlie Blackmon is just 8-for-40 with 14 strikeouts versus the Giants this season.