Giants-Rockies preview

DENVER -- San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy can only hope that the Giants' offense, which has been faltering for weeks, might have bottomed out Monday when they were shut out at, of all places, Coors Field.

The Giants were held to two hits by Chad Bettis, who threw a complete game Monday as the Colorado Rockies won the series opener 6-0.

Since the All-Star break, the Giants are a major league-worst 16-31, a tailspin that includes 18 losses in their past 25 road games. The Giants are hitting a mere .219 (91-for-416) with runners in scoring position in the second half. According to STATS Inc., this is the first time the Giants have been held to four or fewer hits in five straight games since 1913.

"We have to find a way to come out of this," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We couldn't generate the energy level up to get the offense going. Their guy pitched great. I'll give him that, but at the same time, we've been in this for a little while. It's time for us to wake up here.

"We're looking for that magic wand. We are looking for someone to get us going ... to see if somebody can jump start us and get this offense going. We are better than this. This thing is contagious. It has been here awhile, too long."

Catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Brandon Belt and shortstop Brandon Crawford -- the Giants' top three home-run hitters -- have combined for 243 at-bats since one of them last hit a home run -- 142 at-bats by Posey, 71 by Belt and 30 by Crawford, the last of that group to go deep when he homered Aug. 27.

"The boys have to get their confidence back, no question about that," Bochy said. "These things are hard to explain. Crawford, Belt, Posey, the guys that normally have a few more home runs -- but the last thing you can do in this game is start thinking about it and trying for it. Now you're going to get really out of synch. You try to go up there and get a good swing off and see what happens."

Jeff Samardzjia will start Tuesday for the Giants. He's 11-9 with a 4.06 ERA and wasn't involved in the decision Thursday at Chicago when he allowed three runs on five hits in four innings as the Giants lost 5-4 to the Cubs. Samardzjia threw a career-high 47 pitches in the first inning and finished with 87 pitches. In two starts this season against the Rockies, Samardzjia is 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA. In his lone start this season at Coors Field, he allowed two runs in eight innings April 12 and was the winning pitcher in the Giants' 7-2 victory.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson will start for the Rockies. He's 5-5 with a 3.43 ERA, which is the lowest in franchise history by a Rockies starter in his first 15 career starts. Anderson has allowed three or fewer runs in 12 outings, including Wednesday when he worked 6 1/3 scoreless innings in the first game of a doubleheader against the Dodgers and won 7-0. In his lone start against the Giants on July 4 at San Francisco, Anderson allowed three runs on four hits, including homers by Angel Pagan and Posey, in six innings and took the loss as the Rockies fell 3-1.

Bettis' magnificent start Monday gave the Colorado bullpen a day off. Going forward, Rockies manager Walt Weiss will pick his spots to restore the confidence of Carlos Estevez, a 23-year-old rookie with a fastball that can easily touch 100 mph and sits at 97-98 mph. On Sunday against Arizona, Estevez, who is 3-7 with a 5.14 ERA in 56 games with 23 walks, 54 strikeouts and 42 hits allowed in 49 innings, gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. He had hit two batters in his previous 55 appearances before hitting two Arizona hitters Sunday in the space of four batters and yielding a two-run single.

Estevez had a 3.66 ERA in his first 42 appearances but has since allowed 15 hits and 12 runs in his past 9 2/3 innings.

"I think every player's confidence gets shaken in this league," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "It's what you do with it, because everybody fails. For Carlos, he's going through some of that right now. Some of it's mechanical, and we're working on that because it comes down to command. He obviously has major weapons.

"It's about commanding the ball, staying in good counts. If you can't get in (good) counts and use the weapons, it's a tough league to pitch in. Nothing's changed for me as far as what I think about Carlos. I think he's got a tremendous future. He's supremely gifted, and he's a great kid. He's going to be fine -- just working through some things like every player has to."