San Francisco @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2016 ) San Francisco 3, Colorado 2

San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy gave many of his regulars a much-needed breather, and perhaps the breath of fresh air was just what the doctor ordered for his struggling club. After scratching for a 3-2 win to even the series, the well-rested Giants look to post consecutive victories for just the third time since Aug. 1 when they play the rubber match of their three-game set with the host Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Kelby Tomlinson had an RBI single in the ninth inning on Tuesday while making a rare start in place of struggling second baseman Joe Panik, who went 2-for-18 with four strikeouts during the first five contests of San Francisco's 10-game road trip. Denard Span and Brandon Belt are expected to draw back into the lineup despite being hitless in 20 and 18 consecutive at-bats, respectively. The Giants, who reside four games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, are clinging to the top wild card with St. Louis and the New York Mets nipping at their heels. The Rockies, who sit 7 1/2 games behind the Cardinals for the second wild card, have dropped three of four to see their faint playoff aspirations take yet another hit.

TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), ROOT (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Albert Suarez (3-3, 4.29 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Jorge De La Rosa (8-7, 4.88)

Suarez suffered his second straight loss on Friday despite allowing two runs on three hits in five innings of a 2-1 setback at the Chicago Cubs. The 26-year-old Venezuelan will look to snap his modest skid and avenge a loss to Colorado on May 27, when he permitted three runs on five hits in five frames. Suarez also pitched a scoreless inning of relief against the Rockies on May 8.

De La Rosa struggled with his control and was let down by some shoddy defense in his last outing on Friday as he walked four and allowed five runs (all unearned) in five innings of a no-decision against Arizona. The 35-year-old owns an 11-7 career mark versus San Francisco after posting a 1-1 record in three meetings this season. De La Rosa struck out seven in 6 2/3 innings of an 11-6 win on April 14, but suffered the loss on July 6 despite yielding three runs in seven frames.

WALK-OFFS

1. Colorado OF Raimel Tapia has scored a run in four of his five contests since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque.

2. San Francisco has scored three or fewer runs in 26 of the 48 games since the All-Star break, posting a 17-31 mark during that stretch.

3. Rockies rookie OF David Dahl is 0-for-7 with five strikeouts in his last three contests after recording a hit in 34 of his first 37 games.

PREDICTION: Rockies 4, Giants 2