Giants Win On Belt's Game-Ending Hit In 10th
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The Colorado Rockies aren't exactly sprinting toward the finish line.
If anything, it's been a slow, painful crawl down the stretch for manager Walt Weiss's ballclub - and not even a stellar start by Jhoulys Chacin could stop the free fall.
Chacin allowed one run over seven innings but Colorado's bullpen gave up two runs, including Brandon Belt's RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 10th, and the Rockies lost to the San Francisco Giants 3-2 on Monday night.
"Chacin is putting together a great run and a great season," Weiss said. "His two-seamer is real good. His change-up has turned into a really good pitch for him ... (and) he can throw a slider to right-handers. He's got all three working."
D.J. LeMahieu singled and doubled to extend his career-high hitting streak to 11 games, and Nolan Arenado scored from second base on an infield groundout for the Rockies.
It wasn't enough to prevent Colorado from falling to 0-4 on its six-game trip.
San Francisco trailed most of the game until Belt's RBI double in the eighth tied it at 2. Belt drove in the game-winner in the 10th after Angel Pagan hit a one-out single off reliever Adam Ottavino (1-3) and took third on Marco Scutaro's single.
Belt hit a 1-2 pitch over the head of left fielder Charlie Culberson for his second game-ending hit this season.
"The last pitch, I didn't execute," Ottavino said. "I was trying to come up and in and I left it away. It comes with the territory. We really wanted this one and it stinks that we didn't get it."
Despite beating Colorado, the defending World Series champions were eliminated from contention in the NL West earlier in the evening when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Buster Posey hit his 15th home run of the season for San Francisco, which was kept in check offensively most of the game by Chacin.
Chacin struck out five and walked one over seven innings, lowering his ERA in 12 starts on the road to 2.10. The right-hander retired 16 of the final 18 he faced and left with a 2-1 lead.
Colorado's bullpen couldn't make it hold up.
Pagan reached on a one-out infield single off Matt Belisle in the eighth and took second when Arenado's throw from third sailed past first base for an error. After Scutaro's groundout moved Pagan to third, Belt doubled to right to drive in Pagan with the tying run.
The Rockies scored their first run after a defensive breakdown by the Giants.
Arenado doubled in the second and was headed for third on Yorvit Torrealba's slow roller between the mound and first base when he noticed no one covering home. Arenado quickly scampered home, and with no one covering, San Francisco first baseman Belt's throw sailed to the backstop.
After Posey's homer tied it, the Rockies made their own defensive gaffe.
As fog drifted over the waterfront ballpark, Pablo Sandoval lofted a high fly ball to left center. Colorado's Corey Dickerson ran toward the warning track but inexplicably stopped and let the ball drop in as Sandoval raced to second with a double.
Colorado went up 2-1 on Troy Tulowitzki's RBI single in third.
NOTES: LeMahieu is batting .391 (18 for 46) during his streak. ... Colorado needs to win its final two games in San Francisco to secure the season series between the division rivals.
