Bochy expected back as Giants visit Rockies
DENVER -- San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy is expected to return Friday for the start of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.
On Monday, Bochy underwent a procedure for a heart arrhythmia in San Diego, and he did not accompany the Giants to Kansas City, where they split a two-game series.
Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto will face the Rockies for the second straight start, and Colorado right-hander Tyler Chatwood will oppose San Francisco for the second straight start.
The Rockies won three of four from the Giants at AT&T Park last weekend, the first time in franchise history Colorado won a four-game series there.
The Giants, who are 3-6 on the road, have scored a total of five runs in the past four games. They hope Coors Field can help lift their offense. San Francisco (6-10) has scored three or fewer runs in eight games, and eight of the team's 10 defeats were by two or fewer runs.
The Giants rank 10th in the National League with a .233 average and 12th with a .660 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (OPS).
San Francisco left fielder Jarret Parker broke his right clavicle Saturday when he slammed into the wall catching DJ LeMahieu's drive. That position has been an offensive black hole for the Giants; their left fielders are 7-for-56 (.125) with 18 strikeouts and a .408 OPS.
Giants general manager Bobby Evans told the San Jose Mercury News, "We're staying open-minded on left field. With the loss of Parker, it does create the need to rethink a little how we're going to go forward."
Cueto is 3-0 with a 3.79 ERA in three starts this season. He is 8-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 13 starts against the Rockies and 7-0 with a 1.47 ERA in his past eight starts against them. On April 14 at San Francisco, Cueto held the Rockies to six hits and two runs in seven innings and won 8-2.
At Coors Field, Cueto is an impressive 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA in six starts. That is the all-time lowest ERA there by a pitcher who has made at least five starts.
Cueto has won seven consecutive starts, the longest streak by a Giants pitcher since Matt Cain won eight straight outings in 2012. With a win Friday, Cueto would match Cain and Rick Reuschel (1989) for the San Francisco-era franchise record for the most consecutive winning starts.
Chatwood is 1-2 with a 3.54 ERA in three starts. On Saturday at AT&T Park, he threw a two-hitter in the first shutout of his career. Chatwood retired the first 17 batters, one hitter shy of the Rockies record to start a game, and allowed two singles and one walk with four strikeouts in a 5-0 victory. Chatwood got 17 outs on ground balls and allowed one runner to reach second base.
He is 6-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) against the Giants and 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA against them at Coors Field in six games (five starts).
The Rockies are coming off 4-2 trip to face San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they are 7-3 on the road. Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado, who is hitting .356, is 9-for-16 (.563) in his past four games, with four doubles, three homers and six RBI. He has been otherworldly in the first inning, going 7-for-8 with two doubles, two homers, six RBI and three walks in 11 plate appearances.
LeMahieu, whose .348 average last year led the NL, went 10-for-22 (.455) on the last road trip. He began the season 2-for-23 (.087) but has since gone 14-for-34 (.412) to raise his average to .281.
"You never want to start off a season the way I did," LeMahieu told the Denver Post, "but at the same time, I've been 4-for-40 before. So I've been there. It's just that everything is magnified at the beginning of a season. I was not stressing out about it."
