(SportsNetwork.com) – The defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants
appear to be back on track and will begin a six-game road trip Friday with the
first of three straight games against the Colorado Rockies.
The Giants swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in three games and won for the fourth
time in five tries with Thursday’s 3-2 victory in 10 innings. Justin Maxwell
singled home Angel Pagan with the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th.
“It’s great. We’ve been fighting all year,” Maxwell said. “Every time I go up
there I just try to hit it hard.”
Brandon Crawford pushed the game into extra innings when he stroked an RBI
triple in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Matt Duffy. Maxwell, Pagan and Joe
Panik finished with two hits apiece for the Giants, whose recent success comes
on the heels of an eight-game losing streak.
Santiago Casilla tossed a scoreless 10th inning for the win and starter Ryan
Vogelsong gave up two runs and three hits in six innings.
The Giants will visit the Dodgers for three games on this trip and Chris
Heston draws the start Friday night. Heston is 2-1 with an 0.87 earned run
average in three starts and threw 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a 4-1 win
over Arizona last Saturday. He struck out six and has fanned at least five
batters in every start this season.
Heston lost to Colorado on April 13 and was reached for two runs — one earned
— and seven hits in seven innings of a 2-0 loss. It was the young right-
hander’s first appearance against the Rockies.
Colorado split a four-game series versus the San Diego Padres and won the last
two installments of the set at Coors Field. The two wins come on the heels of
a five-game slide.
In Thursday’s 2-1 victory over the Friars, Corey Dickerson put the hosts ahead
to stay with a leadoff home run in the fifth inning off Padres starter Tyson
Ross and finished with two hits and a pair of runs scored.
“I got ready early and he threw a fastball that I think was meant to be
farther inside and it came back over (the plate),” Dickerson said. “I got a
good swing on it.”
Nolan Arenado and Nick Hundley had two hits apiece in the win.
Jordan Lyles lasted 6 2/3 innings in the start for Colorado and only permitted
a run and six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. John Axford struck out
two batters in a scoreless ninth inning for his second save.
Eddie Butler will toe the rubber for the Rockies Friday night and he is 1-1
with a 2.25 earned run average in three starts. He defeated San Francisco on
the road April 13 with 5 1/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 win, but was beaten by
the Dodgers on Sunday.
Los Angeles reached Butler for two runs in five innings of a 7-0 decision and
the right-hander’s ERA went from 1.64 to where it is now. Butler will face the
Giants for only the second time in his career.
The Rockies swept a three-game series by the bay from April 13-15.
