It took a rally, but the San Francisco Giants were able to stretch their series winning streak over the Colorado Rockies to 10 straight games.
Left-hander Madison Bumgarner will try to avoid putting his team in an early hole for a fourth straight game on Friday as the Giants continue a four-game series with the rival Rockies.
San Francisco went into Thursday's opener having dropped back-to-back games to the Toronto Blue Jays by a 21-9 margin. The Giants struggled early in both games, giving up a combined 11 runs in the first inning.
They hoped for better luck last night with ace Matt Cain on the hill, but he was roughed up for six runs in the first three innings of the game as he yielded homers to Wilin Rosario, Todd Helton and Nolan Arenado.
However, Cain settled down after that and logged 6 1/3 innings and the Giants plated five runs in the fourth inning and another three in the sixth to rally for an 8-6 victory.
Brandon Crawford hit a three-run double in the fourth inning and Angel Pagan added a pair of hits and two RBI in the game. Brandon Belt, Gregor Blanco and Cain all drove in a run as well for the Giants, who have won four of their past six.
"It was just one of those games where we went out there with a plan," said Belt. "We were looking for a pitch that we could drive and we didn't give in."
Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro went 2-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest active streak in the majors.
Jhoulys Chacin couldn't hold the early lead for the Rockies, who got a three- run homer from Rosario and a two-run shot by Helton. Chacin yielded all eight runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings.
"When you have a six-run lead you have to put those away," said Colorado manager Walt Weiss. "We have to put together a complete game on both sides of the ball."
Weiss' club has now lost 10 in a row to the Giants, including a three-game sweep in San Francisco from April 8-10.
Bumgarner will try to extend his club's series winning streak and is 4-1 on the year through eight starts with a 2.18 earned run average.
He rebounded from a loss to Philadelphia by beating the Atlanta Braves 10-1 on Saturday. Bumgarner scattered a run, four hits and two walks over seven innings, striking out a season-high 11. It was his second double-digit strikeout game of the season and 10th of his career.
"I felt like I tried to mix it up the whole game, not get stuck on one or two pitches," Bumgarner said. "I wasn't planning on doing it this way, but it worked out to where I was able to break out the curveball in the third or fourth inning -- I kind of saved it -- and then the change-up after that."
The 23-year-old fanned five while yielding two runs over 5 2/3 innings of a victory over the Rockies on April 8, improving to 6-3 with a 2.45 ERA against them lifetime in 12 starts.
Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa took the loss on that day and looks for better results in tonight's rematch. He allowed three runs on six hits over six innings of the 4-2 decision and sits 7-4 lifetime versus the Giants with a 3.43 ERA in 16 meetings (13 starts).
The 32-year-old southpaw comes into tonight's meeting having won back-to-back outings while throwing a combined 13 scoreless innings over that time. Over the shutout streak, De La Rosa has worked around five hits, four walks and struck out nine in wins over the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.
De La Rosa took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Sunday's 8-2 win against the Cards, which came after St. Louis had shut the Rockies out over the previous two days.
"I just tried to throw a good game and go far as I can and try to help my team win especially the way we were the past two games," De La Rosa said.
De La Rosa is 4-3 this season with a 2.98 ERA in eight starts.
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