Baggs' Instant Replay: Giants 8, Rockies 3

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DENVERTim Lincecum didnt have to match an ace or pitch on a razors edge, and thats a good thing. He was plenty erratic while bulldogging his way through six innings Wednesday night.There will come a time, and soon, when Lincecum needs to elevate his game. The rest of the Giants rotation, too.But for now, they continue to outhit their mistakes. A five-run first inning served as Lincecums snowdrift and the Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 8-3 on a chilly night at Coors Field.With the Dodgers losing again, the Giants widened their lead to seven games in the NL West with 19 to play.Not only did the Giants take two of three here, but they scored 76 runs while winning seven of nine games at Coors Field this season. That pencils out to 8.4 runs per gamea gusher at any altitude.Brandon Crawford hit a two-run double in the first inning, Marco Scutaro had three hits and Buster Posey upped his average to .333. Gregor Blanco started it all with a leadoff triple and made a pair of fine catches in center field while subbing for Angel Pagan.The Giants still have a four-game series with the Rockies next week at AT&T Park, but theyre sure going to miss Coors.Starting pitching reportOne start after issuing a career-high seven walks, Lincecum walked three more in the first two innings. In fact, at that point, he had issued a walk in each of his last 10 inningssomething no Giants starting pitcher had done since John DAcquisto in 1976, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.Of the 11 walks over that span, only two of them scored. One of those came in the first inning, when Carlos Gonzalez drew a two-out walk and advanced on a balk as Lincecum tripped while beginning his delivery. Wilin Rosario followed with an RBI single.But Lincecum pitched around two walks in the second inning, getting Josh Rutledge to ground out to strand the bases loaded.Rosario got him again in the third when Lincecums 1-1 changeup lacked its familiar plunging action. The rookie catcher pummeled the pitch into the left field bleachers for his 24th home run.Lincecum got Jordan Pacheco to fly out to strand two runners in the fifth, but the Rockies managed one more run against him in the sixth. Chris Nelson singled and scored on Charlie Blackmons pinch, two-out double.That brought Giants manager Bruce Bochy to the mound, but he had his trot ona sure signal that he was coming to deliver a message, not ask for the baseball. Lincecum received it, striking out Dexter Fowler in his best confrontation of the night. It went called slider, fouled curve and a 90 mph fastball that got past Fowlers swing to end Lincecums night.Lincecum needed 108 pitches to get through six innings, and while he hasnt been nearly efficient enough to pitch deeper into games, he did manage to post his third consecutive quality start.He also struck out eight, and for all his woes this season, he still has 177 strikeouts in 169 23 innings. Thats still good for eighth in the National League.And while its no great shakes, Lincecums 5.09 ERA is the lowest its been all season.Bullpen reportBruce Bochy used seven relievers to get nine outs.He used Guillermo Mota, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo for one batter apiece in the ninth, even with a five-run lead. The dozens who remained at Coors Field grumbled over that one.You may write him co the San Francisco Giants, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, SF CA 94107.At the plateAngel Pagan always chatters about the importance of scoring in the first inning. Pagan received a day off to heal a cut on his left hand, but the Giants took his mantra to heart.They posted a five-run first inning against left-hander Jeff Francis, and Blanco started it with a triple to the gap in right-center. Marco Scutaros line drive single scored Blanco and the Giants kept hitting from there. Buster Posey, Joaquin Arias and Hector Sanchez each collected singles and Brandon Crawford turned a nice inning into a big one with a two-out, two-run double to the right field corner.Sanchez scored from first base, but he absorbed catcher Wilon Rosarios knee to his ribs and stayed down for several seconds as trainers attended to him. Nine innings behind the plate still loomed for Sanchez, but hes a pretty tough customer. He emerged from the dugout with his gear on to start the bottom of the first after Eli Whiteside warmed up Tim Lincecum.Crawford doubled again in the sixth and scored on Scutaros two-out single.It was a bit of justice for Crawford, who hit the ball hard a night earlier but had two hits taken away from him when the Rockies made fine plays in the field.Hunter Pence hit an RBI triple and scored on a sacrifice fly as the Giants tacked on two runs in the ninth.In fieldBlanco raced back to the wall to make a pair of nifty catches and the Giants, playing without Pablo Sandovals shaky glove at third base, played error-free.AttendanceThe Rockies announced 24,182 paid on a chilly night in Denver. At least the guy in the Dinger costume kept warm.Up nextThe Giants enjoy their second to last day off this season before beginning a three-game series at Arizonas Chase Field on Friday. Matt Cain (13-5, 2.96) will oppose left-hander Tyler Skaggs (1-1, 4.43) in the opener, followed by Barry Zito (11-8, 4.33) against left-hander Wade Miley (15-9, 3.07) on Saturday and Ryan Vogelsong (12-8, 3.40) against left-hander Patrick Corbin (5-7, 4.19) on Sunday.

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