Red-Hot Brandon Belt Leads Giants Over Rockies
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brandon Belt snapped a seventh-inning tie with a three-run homer and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 9-5 on Sunday.
Nick Hundley added a solo shot later in the seventh for the Giants, who salvaged a four-game split after dropping the first two games of the series. Gorkys Hernandez hit a two-run homer in the fifth.
Belt connected for his 12th home run this season and fifth in seven games to give San Francisco an 8-5 lead. He and Hundley both homered off left-hander Jake McGee.
Belt came to the plate with Hernandez aboard on a leadoff single and Evan Longoria on following a one-out walk by reliever Bryan Shaw (1-2).
Colorado lost for the third time in 11 road games this month.
The Rockies trailed 5-4 going into the seventh before Nolan Arenado singled home a run off winner Sam Dyson (2-0).
San Francisco rallied from a 4-1 deficit.
Hernandez homered in the fifth off starter Tyler Anderson to make it 4-3. An inning later, the Giants took a 5-4 lead on Kelby Tomlinson's two-out, two-run triple off Shaw.
The Rockies trailed 1-0 going into the fourth when Trevor Story's RBI double highlighted a two-run inning.
Colorado sent eight batters to the plate in a two-run fifth, chasing starter Ty Blach.
The Giants took an early lead when Buster Posey tripled and scored on Longoria's sacrifice fly in the first. Posey's triple was the ninth of his career and first since Sept. 10, 2016.
Arenado's RBI in the seventh was his 80th against the Giants. The only active players with more are Adrian Gonzalez (85) and Matt Kemp (91).
Arenado was 3 for 5 and finished 8 for 18 in the series. He has reached base safely in 28 of his last 29 games and 39 of 42 overall.
SECOND CHANCE?
With two Giants second basemen on the disabled list, veteran third baseman Pablo Sandoval took grounders at second Sunday morning. He played two-thirds of an inning at second for Boston in April 2017. "He surprises me how quick his feet are and he's pretty good around the bag," manager Bruce Bochy said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: OF Andrew McCutchen was out of the lineup with a bruised knee and is day to day. ... 2B-OF Alen Hanson (left hamstring strain) won't travel with the team to Houston. Hanson is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday but is a few days behind his projected return, Bochy said.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP German Marquez (2-2, 5.15 ERA) will pitch Monday's series opener in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. The 23-year-old is 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA in five road starts.
Giants: LHP Andrew Suarez (1-3, 4.88) starts Tuesday's series opener in Houston against the defending World Series champions. The 25-year-old rookie has struck out 28 and walked five in 27 2/3 innings.
