Bumgarner hit a sacrifice fly off starter Jorge De La Rosa in the third inning, then connected for a towering home run in the fourth. It was Bumgarner's third career homer and only the second grand slam by a Giants pitcher since the team relocated from New York to San Francisco in 1958.
Shawn Estes did it against Montreal on May 24, 2000.
Brandon Crawford added two hits and scored twice for the Giants.
Carlos Gonzalez homered for Colorado, which played short-handed after injuries sidelined two of its top hitters.
Bumgarner (2-0) struck out seven and walked two in six erratic innings. He allowed nine hits and appeared headed for a short night until the Giants scored five runs in the fourth.
His home run came on a day when both teams were minus key players.
Troy Tulowitzki's sore quadriceps kept him out of Colorado's starting lineup. He pinch-hit in the ninth and struck out looking against closer Sergio Romo to end the game.
The Rockies also were without catcher Wilin Rosario, who hurt his left wrist while sliding during Wednesday's 8-1 win against the Chicago White Sox.
San Francisco played with a jumbled lineup as manager Bruce Bochy rested catcher Buster Posey and center fielder Angel Pagan.
There were still plenty of offensive fireworks.
Gonzalez hit a two-run shot off Bumgarner in the third to put the Rockies up 3-0. The ball landed in McCovey Cove, the second time Colorado's slugger has reached the waters beyond AT&T Park.
Bumgarner, a right-handed batter, came a few feet shy of homering off De La Rosa (0-2) in the third and hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Crawford, who led off the inning with a triple.
There was no doubt about Bumgarner's drive in the fourth. He sent De La Rosa's first pitch deep into the left field stands for his first home run since 2012.
De La Rosa, Colorado's opening day starter, failed to make it out of the fifth for the third consecutive start. He struck out six and walked two.
Bumgarner wasn't sharp either and labored most of the game. He threw 112 pitches and gave up four runs, ending a streak of 21 consecutive starts in which he allowed three earned runs or fewer.
Colorado cut it to 6-5 on Charlie Blackmon's pinch-hit single off reliever Santiago Casilla in the eighth but made two baserunning blunders.
Blackmon strayed too far off second and was thrown out after Casilla made a nice play to spear Jordan Pacheco's fielder's choice. Pacheco then got doubled up when San Francisco center fielder Juan Perez caught DJ LeMahieu's fly ball and threw to first.
Romo struck out the side in the ninth for his third save.
The Rockies went up 1-0 in the first when leadoff hitter Brandon Barnes singled and later scored from third while Josh Rutledge was caught trying to steal second.
Rutledge started in place of Tulowitzki and went 3 for 4.
NOTES: Gonzalez has five career home runs off Bumgarner, the most given up by the San Francisco lefty. ... Injured Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt was scheduled to make a second straight rehab appearance in the minors. ... LHP Brett Anderson (0-2) pitches Saturday against San Francisco RHP Matt Cain (0-1).
