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Giants-Rockies Preview

Jul 4, 2010 - 5:30 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

San Francisco (40-39) at Colorado (43-37), 3:10 p.m. EDT

The San Francisco Giants snapped their longest losing streak in three years with their highest-scoring game in five weeks.

Considering the way Matt Cain has silenced the Colorado Rockies' bats, they seem to have a good chance at winning two in a row.

Cain tries to defeat the Rockies for the third straight time when he takes the ball in Sunday's series finale at Coors Field.

San Francisco (41-39) plated 15 total runs during a seven-game skid - its longest since June 13-22, 2007 - before beating the Rockies 11-8 on Saturday. The Giants, who scored their most runs since a 12-1 win over Arizona on May 29, did most of the damage against Ubaldo Jimenez, the favorite to be named the starter for the NL All-Star team.

San Francisco scored seven runs off Jimenez in the third inning, highlighted by Travis Ishikawa's first career grand slam. Aubrey Huff added a two-run homer in the ninth, and is batting .419 with five home runs and nine RBIs in nine games against Colorado this season.

"When you're in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and you're facing one of the best pitchers in baseball, if not the best, we were thinking the same thing: Maybe this is something we need," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Cain (6-7, 2.93 ERA) also finds himself in a bit of a rut, and a start against the Rockies could be just what he needs.

After posting a 0.55 ERA while winning four consecutive starts May 28-June 13, Cain has recorded an 8.22 ERA while losing his last three outings. Against the Dodgers on Tuesday, he gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings of a 4-2 loss, falling to 0-8 in 14 career starts versus Los Angeles.

While Cain has had no luck against the Dodgers, he's been outstanding in two wins against the Rockies this season. The right-hander allowed one hit over eight scoreless innings in a 6-1 victory May 1, and gave up one run and four hits in eight innings of a 4-1 win June 2.

Although both of those starts came in San Francisco, Cain has also proven he can dominate at hitter-friendly Coors Field, limiting the Rockies to one run and four hits over 14 innings to win two starts there last season

The Rockies (43-38) mounted an impressive rally but couldn't hang on Saturday, coming from six runs down to take an 8-7 sixth-inning lead that didn't last.

Carlos Gonzalez homered and drove in three runs for Colorado, which trails NL West-leading San Diego by five games. The Giants are 6 1/2 games out of first.

Gonzalez has four home runs and eight RBIs in his last six games, but is 1 for 12 lifetime against Cain.

Colorado counters with Jason Hammel (6-3, 4.32), who allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings of Tuesday's 6-3 win at San Diego. Hammel is 5-0 with a 2.01 ERA in his last seven starts after going 1-3 with a 7.52 ERA over his first six.

The right-hander was solid against the Giants on June 1, allowing one run and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings of the Rockies' 2-1, 11-inning win.