Colorado @ San Francisco preview

Last Meeting ( May 29, 2016 ) San Francisco 8, Colorado 3

The San Francisco Giants are making mincemeat of the National League West of late and look to continue that trend when they open a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies on Monday afternoon. The division-leading Giants improved to 18-4 in their last 22 encounters with their NL West rivals after taking two of three at Arizona this weekend.

Brandon Belt drove in a pair of runs during Sunday's 5-4 win in 11 innings and is 15-for-36 with two homers, five RBIs and seven runs scored in nine meetings with the Rockies this season. Colorado, which gamely has salvaged a split of the 10 encounters with San Francisco in 2016, has been outscored 34-14 en route to losing five in a row. The Rockies mustered just two runs - both solo homers - and 12 hits while striking out a staggering 41 times in their three-game series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nolan Arenado, who belted a solo homer on Saturday, is 7-for-14 with five extra-base hits in his career versus Monday starter Jake Peavy.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies LH Tyler Anderson (0-2, 2.66 ERA) vs. Giants RH Jake Peavy (4-7, 5.33)

Anderson's quest for his first major-league win will continue on Monday as Colorado has elected to skip Eddie Butler's spot in the rotation. The 26-year-old Anderson turned in his fourth strong performance in as many outings on Wednesday, allowing three runs in six innings of a 5-3 setback to Texas. He surrendered his first homer of the season but has yielded only seven earned runs in 23 2/3 frames.

Peavy suffered his first loss in 3 1/2 weeks on Wednesday, when he was blitzed for seven runs and five hits in 3 1/3 innings of a 7-1 setback at Oakland. The tough outing came on the heels of the 35-year-old posting a 3-1 record and 1.91 ERA over his previous six starts. Peavy also surrendered two homers versus the Athletics, marking the first time he had been taken deep since May 20.

WALK-OFFS

1. Colorado OF Carlos Gonzalez is just 1-for-10 with four strikeouts following his seven-game hitting streak.

2. San Francisco 2B Grant Green has registered three multi-hit performances in four outings since being recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.

3. Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood, who has been sidelined since June 18 with a balky back, is expected to start on Tuesday, according to the Denver Post.

PREDICTION: Giants 3, Rockies 2