Giants 1 - 2 Rockies
Final
  for this game

Morales solid as Rockies edge Giants

Apr 23, 2014 - 6:38 AM Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Troy Tulowitzki and Nolan Arenado each hit a solo home run to back a strong start from Franklin Morales, as the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Francisco Giants, 2-1, to take the second matchup of a three-game set.

Morales (2-1) allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings of work. Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers and LaTroy Hawkins combined to close out the final two innings, with Hawkins getting two outs in the ninth to secure his sixth save of the season.

Colorado has won five of its last six games.

"It's the close games that separate teams," said Arenado. "You can always feel good when you're up by five, but when it's crunch time that's when the colors really show and we showed it today."

Hunter Pence accounted for San Francisco's lone run with a solo shot in the fifth inning. Giants starter Madison Bumgarner (2-2) went eight innings and surrendered two runs on nine hits with six strikeouts.

San Francisco has dropped five of six.

"You have to make pitches," said Bumgarner. "The one to Tulowitzki kind of came back over the middle and Arenado, (I) was just trying to get a fastball down and away, but ended up throwing it middle."

Tulowitzki hit a towering drive over the wall in left-center to open the scoring in the home half of the fourth. Pence wasted no time tying the game up with his solo shot in the top of the fifth.

With two outs, Pence reached out and pulled the Morales offering out to left to knot the game at 1-1.

Arenado then led off the bottom of the fifth with his solo homer that put the Rockies up for good.

Pence and Michael Morse knocked singles around a Buster Posey groundout to put runners on first and second with one out in the top of the eighth. Brothers relieved Ottavino and induced a 6-4-3 double play on the first pitch to Pablo Sandoval.

Brothers got Brandon Belt to ground out to start the ninth, then Hawkins walked Brandon Crawford and allowed a single to Gregor Blanco. Pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez struck out in the following at-bat and Angel Pagan grounded out to Tulowitzki to end the game.

Game Notes

Posey went 1-for-4 in the game and is now 3-for-33 in his last 10 games ... San Francisco is 3-9 at Coors Field since the start of the 2013 season ... The Giants were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base ... Colorado was 1-for-7 with RISP and stranded seven on base.






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