Mercury News
DENVER -- Troy Tulowitzki entered this series as the scariest hitter in baseball, and the Colorado Rockies were the hottest team in either league.
The Giants were not intimidated last October. They aren't intimidated now.
Jonathan Sanchez picked up where Tim Lincecum left off a night earlier, one-hitting the Rockies into the seventh inning while neutralizing the potent heart of Colorado's lineup Tuesday night. Pablo Sandoval lit another first-inning fuse with a three-run homer as the Giants won 6-3 at Coors Field.
San Francisco handed the Rockies their first series loss of the season. Colorado (12-5) hadn't lost consecutive games, either. Through two games, Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are 1 for 14 with no RBIs.
"That's just a testament to our pitching," said Aubrey Huff, who added a two-run homer in the seventh. "Everybody saw it in the playoffs. It's no accident what they did. Our guys are dirty. They feed off each other, one guy following another.
"And it doesn't end here. We've got (Matt) Cain, our horse, tomorrow. I'm telling you, I wouldn't want to face these guys."
Against the best, hottest, most cringe-inducing hitters, the Giants pitchers seem to shine brightest. They did it to Josh Hamilton in the World Series. They snuffed out Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the NLCS. Jason Heyward, so brilliant as a rookie for the Atlanta Braves last season, had one hit in four N.L. division series games.
Sanchez didn't follow Lincecum in the rotation until the postseason. He's having a heck of a good time with it now. "It's awesome," said Sanchez, who might have taken his own no-hitter into the seventh if right fielder Nate Schierholtz had been able to hold onto Dexter Fowler's deep drive leading off the game. "When you see Timmy go seven or eight innings, you want to do the same thing. Just don't give up." Sanchez entered the game leading the N.L. with 13 strikeouts per nine innings. That rate took a hit when he struck out just four while lasting into the seventh, but he managed to keep the Rockies at bay despite lacking the best action on his slider. "Get ahead and use breaking balls," said Sanchez when asked about his game plan. "I threw a lot of fastballs. You could see they were swinging at some bad pitches. That's to our advantage." Tulowitzki, who grew up in Sunnyvale, entered the series leading the N.L. in home runs and slugging percentage. Thanks to the Giants' first-inning explosions each of the last two games, it's been a lot easier for Lincecum and Sanchez to pitch aggressively to him. In addition to carrying over that strong pitching from last October, it's clear the Giants have a lot more going for them on the offensive side. In five games on this trip they've powered their way to 14 runs in the first inning. Sandoval, who has two three-run homers in the first inning on the trip, is responsible for nearly half the goods in that horn of plenty. Facing hard-throwing Ubaldo Jimenez, he stayed back on a 1-2 slider, and with a slashing swing, he launched it into the second deck beyond the Rockies bullpen. Sandoval's fifth home run came in his 55th at-bat. Last year, it took him 242 at-bats before he hit his fifth homer (on June 12). "Especially left-handed, I've got the confidence to get deep in the count," Sandoval said. "With two strikes, you want to fight and get a pitch to hit." Said Jimenez: "He's aggressive and patient at the same time now." The Giants might have won with pitching last year, but they're a heavy lumber squad thus far, too. They've outhomered the Rockies 5-0 in two games. Their 22 home runs are second to the Cincinnati Reds (with 24) among N.L. clubs. "I think you'll see more of this," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Maybe not always in the first inning, but we're a better offensive club than we were last year. We've got guys who weren't with us all last season." Including Sandoval, in a sense. He hit .208 with runners in scoring position last year. He's 5 for 12 thus far. There have been times the Rockies have gotten into the Giants' heads, especially at Coors Field. A 15-inning loss last July 4 comes to mind. There was the Ryan Spilborghs grand slam game that helped knock the Giants from contention in 2009, too. So it's never a bad thing to walk into Coors Field and give the Rockies something to think about. "You can't let that club get out in front of you like this," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Not with their pitching. That's a huge mountain to climb." Said Spilborghs: "The frustrating thing is that we weren't able to punch them back in the mouth. We weren't lifeless. We were grinding. We just couldn't get it done." The Giants hope to complete the sweep behind Cain. They'd like to do it quickly, too, and enjoy an early arrival back home. "Big Daddy Cain," closer Brian Wilson said with a smirk. "We're fortunate to have him going on a travel day."
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