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Rockies-Giants Preview

Sep 15, 2009 - 9:40 PM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Colorado (82-63) at San Francisco (78-66), 10:15 p.m. EDT

The Colorado Rockies once again are at AT&T Park with a chance to pad their wild-card lead, and are instead allowing the San Francisco Giants to creep closer.

The Rockies will try to end a four-game losing streak to the Giants and restore a 4 1/2-game cushion for the wild card as the NL West rivals continue their three-game set Tuesday night.

Colorado (82-63) entered a three-game series at San Francisco (78-66) on Aug. 28 with a three-game lead and was swept to fall into a tie. The Rockies suffered their fourth straight loss to the Giants - and second in that span to Tim Lincecum - Monday with a 9-1 setback to see their lead cut to 3 1/2 games.

Lincecum allowed one run and had 11 strikeouts over seven innings after he missed his last start with spasms and inflammation in his lower back. He's won his last six decisions at home.

"It was fun to win a game like that," Lincecum said.

The Rockies have lost six of seven at San Francisco this year and have fallen to 7-9 in the season series. The Giants can clinch the season series with one more win, a tiebreaker that would determine which team would get to host a possible one-game playoff for the wild card.

Bengie Molina homered and scored three runs and Eugenio Velez drove in four in the Giants' second straight win following a four-game slide.

Colorado has dropped three straight overall to also fall four games behind the NL West-leading Dodgers. The Rockies have scored six runs in their skid with three extra-base hits.

Yorvit Torrealba had two of Colorado's six hits Monday. The former San Francisco catcher has a 10-game hitting streak against the Giants and is hitting .464 (13 for 28) against them this season.

Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez (13-10, 3.32 ERA) will pitch for the first time since he surrendered three runs over six innings Sept. 7 and did not get a decision in a 4-3 win over Cincinnati. Jimenez tweaked a hamstring while running the bases in that outing and had his next start pushed back from Saturday.

The hard-throwing right-hander is trying to avenge his lone loss since the All-Star break. He gave up two runs over seven innings in a 2-0 loss to the Giants and Lincecum on Aug. 28 to fall to 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA in four starts versus San Francisco this year.

Jimenez is 7-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 11 outings since the All-Star break.

Barry Zito (9-12, 3.99) will oppose him for San Francisco. The left-hander is 3-2 with a 1.92 ERA in 10 career starts against the Rockies, including 1-0 with a 0.42 ERA in three this year.

Predictably, the Rockies have some ugly numbers versus Zito, including Troy Tulowitzki (.154), Brad Hawpe (.190), Torrealba (.154) and Ian Stewart (.091).

Zito lost for the first time in five starts Wednesday when he gave up three runs over five innings in a 4-2 loss to San Diego. He was 1-0 with a 1.11 ERA over his previous four outings.