SAN FRANCISCO — The first week of the season was filled with blown leads. The second week has included a pair of failed comeback attempts.
On Friday, the Giants let their manager relax.
This one turned into a good old-fashioned blowout. Johnny Cueto threw seven sharp innings and the lineup scored four runs early and four more in the seventh. The Giants beat the Rockies 8-2 as Cueto became the first pitcher to three wins this season.
The Giants are getting close to sending Michael Morse and Melvin Upton Jr. to Triple-A Sacramento, but left fielder Chris Marrero dropped a “not so fast” swing into the night’s action to get things going. After a walk of Eduardo Nuñez and the first of two Tyler Anderson balks in the second, Marrero crushed a 2-2 fastball into the left field seats.
Brandon Crawford, who has had an emotional week, lined the first pitch of the fourth the other way for a solo shot that gave Cueto a 4-0 lead, but the Rockies immediately chipped away.
Two singles and walk loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Stephen Cardullo hit a bouner to second and Joe Panik tried to tag Tony Wolters to start a double play, but the ball flew out of Panik’s glove as he touched Wolters. A run scored, and the Rockies would tack on another before Crawford and Panik turned an inning-ending double play.
The Giants do not typically compile their run on homers, and the seventh-inning rally had a more familiar feel. With two outs, Denard Span drew a walk and then watched as five straight hitters knocked singles. Brandon Belt’s at-bat was the best of of the bunch, a 13-pitch marathon that ended with a 96 mph Jake McGee fastball getting lined into center. Belt fouled off seven pitches after falling behind 0-2.
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Starting pitching report: Cueto's night: 7 innings, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts.
Bullpen report: Derek Law is settling in after a shaky start. He was sharp in the eighth.
At the plate: Marrero had 4,005 minor league plate appearances before picking up his first homer.
In the field: Belt spent a chunk of Thursday’s game chasing down popups to deep right. Crawford made a similar play on the left field side Friday.
Attendance: The sellout crowd tried to push the seventh-inning rally along with cell phone lights. If those people think I'm forgetting that they did the wave two weeks ago, they're nuts.
Up next: Matt Moore will face right-hander Tyler Chatwood, who gave up one earned run in 13 innings at AT&T Park last season.