Colorado @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( May 1, 2010 ) Colorado 1, San Francisco 6
Juan Uribe is supposed to be the temporary fill-in, not San Francisco’s top run-producer.
The Giants’ utilityman has been one of the team’s top offensive players while filling in for injured second baseman Freddy Sanchez and will look to continue his early-season prowess when San Francisco hosts the Colorado Rockies this afternoon.
Uribe will be playing shortstop today in place of injured Edgar Renteria (groin), but he has excelled no matter where he’s been stationed.
Uribe hit a three-run homer in Saturday’s game to help the Giants beat the Rockies for the second straight day. He’s hitting .309 with a team-leading 16 RBIs. His three homers are tied for the club lead.
Uribe was supposed to the super sub, filling in whenever Sanchez, Renteria or third baseman Pedro Sandoval needed a rest. But with Sanchez still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, Uribe has been a fixture in the starting lineup with the exception of the recent stretch where an elbow injury kept him from playing the field.
He returned to the starting lineup and drove in two runs in Friday’s victory before Saturday’s three-RBI game.
Uribe, who hit 20 or more homers three times for the Chicago White Sox, has never driven in more than 74 runs in a season.
Sanchez was originally expected to be back by May 1 but is still about 10 days away from returning.
One San Francisco player expected to return today is center fielder Aaron Rowand, who has been on the disabled list after having his cheekbone fractured by a pitch from Vicente Padilla of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez (2-1) will be on the mound for the Giants. He’s allowed just two runs and seven hits over his last three starts, a stretch of 20 innings.
Sanchez has a 1.85 ERA and has struck out 33 batters in 24 1/3 innings. He’s 2-3 lifetime against Colorado with a 6.85 ERA.
Colorado will try to end a three-game losing streak by sending Jhoulys Chacin to the mound. The 22-year-old right-hander is making his second career start.
He’s pitched one inning in relief for the Rockies thus far and was recently recalled because of injuries to starting pitchers Jorge De La Rosa and Jason Hammel.
The Rockies held second baseman Clint Barmes out of the lineup Saturday due to his lack of career success against Matt Cain (1-for-15). But Barmes has struggled against every pitcher most of the season – the normally fast-starting Barmes is hitting just .196.
Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has fared well against Sanchez, hitting .417 with a homer and five RBIs in 12 career at-bats.
San Francisco’s Sandoval had a 10-game hitting streak ended on Saturday.