No major undertaking

Rockies rattle career minor-leaguer Palmer

Henry Schulman - San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate)
You look at pitcher Matt Palmer's travelogue and shudder at how many times he probably got his nourishment from a fast-food sack and his sleep on a bus during a 6 1/2-year minor-league career.

Salem-Keizer to Hagerstown and Norwich. Norwich and Norwich again. He stuck around for Norwich's name change to Connecticut then went to Fresno, and to Fresno again, and Fresno once more for good measure. And for what?

For the chance to get a major-league win, of course. Palmer had three opportunities in place of injured starter Jonathan Sanchez. He went 0-for-3. In his final chance Tuesday night, Palmer walked six and allowed five runs in 41/3 innings. The Rockies won 7-2.

After sweeping the Padres and cobbling a five-game win streak, the Giants have settled into a malaise against Colorado, quietly losing the first two games of a series that ends tonight with Tim Lincecum attempting to burnish his Cy Young qualifications.

Perhaps Lincecum can send a jolt through China Basin in the finale of a nine-game homestand and a stretch of 20 games without a day off. The place was rendered church-quiet for two games by the Giants' inability to test the Rockies. Thrill-seeking television viewers had better luck switching to the Tax Audit Channel.

"We've been playing good up to this point," Rich Aurilia said after delivering three of the Giants' five hits. "We're in a streak of a lot of games on consecutive days. Maybe the guys are dragging a little bit. I'm sure we'll bounce back tomorrow. We've got Timmy going. Hopefully we'll swing the bats."

The Giants were silenced not by a big-name pitcher, but by Jorge De La Rosa, who somehow managed to throw 32 pitches in the first inning without allowing a run. Randy Winn had the team's only RBI, on a single. Even Pablo Sandoval could not roust the team. His hit streak ended at nine games with an 0-for-4. He also committed an error that led to one run against Palmer being unearned.

Palmer was optioned to Triple-A Fresno after the game, to be replaced on the roster by reliever Osiris Matos and in the rotation by Sanchez, who went all out in a pregame bullpen session. Assuming his left shoulder remains pain free, Sanchez will retake his slot in the rotation in Denver on Monday.

Manager Bruce Bochy gave Palmer every opportunity to stick around long enough for a chance at that first big-league win. He let the 29-year-old right-hander bat in the fourth inning with a man on third and the Giants trailing 4-1 on two-run singles by Garrett Atkins and Chris Iannetta. Bochy let Palmer stay in the game even after walking his sixth batter in the fifth inning. But when Palmer hit the next man to load the he bases, he was through.

"He was his own worst enemy," said Bochy, who complained about walks for the zillionth time this season. "That's been our biggest issue."

When the Giants try to revamp their bullpen over the winter, strike-throwers surely will top their shopping list. One rookie already in the fold might have an in. As Sergio Romo demonstrated while retiring all five of his batters in relief of Palmer, he is not allergic to the plate. Romo threw 13 pitches, 10 strikes.

"A first-pitch strike is the best pitch," Romo said. "It's a lot easier to get ahead of hitters and get them to chase something. I have the confidence to throw strikes in there."

Palmer recognizes his three major-league starts were an opportunity lost. He seemed mighty depressed after the loss and his demotion to Fresno. Though he insisted he does not worry about the future because he is sure God will decide what is best, he recognized he will have to help his own cause with "hard work. I've got to throw first-pitch strikes more often. That's what I'm going to take from this."

That, plus an 0-2 record that was assured when Jack Taschner and Keiichi Yabu conspired to allow two more runs in the seventh, sending home viewers to the Tax Audit Channel for the rest of the evening.