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Rockies look to jump on Lincecum in middle match against Giants

Sep 2, 2008 - 1:57 PM San Francisco (59-78) at Colorado (64-74), 8:35 pm EDT

DENVER (Ticker) -- Considering last season's fireworks in September, it's hard to count the Colorado Rockies out at this point.

Winners of 10 of their last 15, the Rockies continue a three-game set with the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, hoping to inch closer toward relevance in the National League playoff chase.

Starter Jorge De La Rosa tossed seven sterling frames on Monday, propelling the Rockies to a 4-0 win in the opener, but winning the middle match won't be as easy.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum (15-3, 2.43 ERA) takes the mound as the leader the majors with 210 strikeouts and owner of the lowest ERA in the NL in his second season.

The 24-year-old went 7-5 with a 4.00 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 146 1-3 innings over 24 starts last year, and is now considered a serious contender for the Cy Young.

He was brilliant yet again on Wednesday, yielding one run and five hits with 10 strikeouts while throwing a career-high 132 pitches over 7 2/3 innings of a 4-1 victory over the Rockies.

Colorado counters with Livan Hernandez (1-3, 11.09), who allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings while taking his second consecutive loss against Lincecum and the Giants on Wednesday.

The Rockies lost three in a row prior to De La Rosa's gem, but remain within striking distance - six games - of the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks (70-67).

Colorado's historic September run, during which it went 20-8 before beating the San Diego Padres in a wild-card playoff, came en route to its first NL pennant in 2007. The club has won 14 of its last 15 September games and is off to a good start in the stretch-run this year.

It faces Arizona six times in the season's final nine games, with a set against the Giants in between.