SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
Sometimes a team needs to blow off steam. When the guy at the controls is as good as Troy Tulowitzki, that can mean a lot of steam.
Held hitless in the first two games of the series, Tulowitzki doubled twice and singled to launch all three scoring rallies in Colorado's 10-2 rout of the Giants on Wednesday. Matt Cain did not survive the fifth inning and allowed six runs in his first loss.
The Giants would have made a booming noise by sweeping the Rockies at Coors Field for the first time in nine years. As it was, they won their fourth consecutive series and completed a 4-2 trip.
Whether you play in the summer swelter of the Midwest or in Denver on a 47-degree afternoon, the name of the game is winning series.
"I feel that's what you have to do as a confident team, a good team," Cain said. "You have to think you're going to go in and take two out of three or three out of four every time."
The Giants' next series is a weekend cameo at home against Atlanta before they embark on a 10-game trip back east. The San Francisco fans will see Cody Ross, who went 0-for-4 in his 2011 debut Wednesday, but not Brandon Belt, who was optioned to Triple-A Fresno to clear a spot for Ross.
The open question is whether they will see Pablo Sandoval, the team's hottest hitter, who was scratched Wednesday with a strained right triceps. He said he first felt it on a first-inning throw Tuesday night and aggravated it during batting practice Wednesday.
Sandoval provided some good news to the medical staff. He feels no pain when he swings left-handed, his better side. Manager Bruce Bochy hopes Sandoval will start against right-hander Tommy Hanson on Friday night.
Wednesday's game was fairly settled in the second inning, when Tulowitzki doubled, Cain hit Todd Helton, Seth Smith hit an RBI single and Ty Wigginton slammed an inside fastball from Cain into the left-field seats for a three-run homer that produced as many runs as Cain had surrendered in his first three starts combined.
Wigginton's 1,000th career hit gave the Rockies a 4-1 lead that allowed starter Jorge De La Rosa to attack Giants hitters aggressively, just as Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez did with big leads in the first two games.
"He's got good stuff," Aaron Rowand said. "He lulls you to sleep with that real slow, methodical windup. Then he dumps a 96-mph fastball on you."
The Giants mustered five hits for the game, including a Rowand double and Buster Posey single that produced a fleeting 1-0 lead in the first inning.
The loss left the Giants 10-8, which might not look as shiny as Colorado's 13-5 but reflects a solid reversal for San Francisco after it started the year 1-4.
Before the game, Bochy noted how the Giants opened with four games in Los Angeles and two in San Diego that included some kooky game times. They then came home for a series against St. Louis that included all the distracting pomp of the banner raising and ring ceremony.
"They had a lot thrown at them," Bochy said. "They've done a great job bouncing back and winning games."
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