The Colorado Rockies had a horrible time at it on Friday night, losing to the San Francisco Giants, 16-4. In a season that has seen some bad pitching, it obviously didn't get any better in the last game. Jonathan Sanchez allowed two runs in three innings and then the bullpen collapsed over the final three innings of the game, allowing 13 runs.
Jeff Francis (3-3, 5.43 ERA) will look to turn around that bad pitching on Saturday, and he'll need to do it by rebounding from his own bad start. The last time out, the Cardinals hit him up for five runs on six hits in four innings. The Cardinals won that game, 11-6. Over his last four starts, Francis has alternated good starts with bad starts. Will that pattern continue with a good start on Saturday?
If it is, the Rockies will also need to be able to hit the Giants' starter, Madison Bumgarner (11-6, 3.09 ERA). Bumgarner hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of his starts since he gave up seven to the Nationals on July 4. He has also pitched seven innings in three of those four starts since then. Earlier in the season, Bumgarner threw 7.1 innings of one-run ball against the Rockies at Coors Field. The Giants won the game, 4-2.
This game starts at 6:10 p.m. MT and can be seen on ROOT Sports and heard on 850 KOA.
For more on these teams, visit Rockies blow Purple Row and Giants blog McCovey Chronicles. Head over to Baseball Nation for more news and notes around the league.
