San Francisco @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 28, 2018 ) Colorado 9, San Francisco 8

The San Francisco Giants have been one of - if not the worst - road team in the National League for a large part of the season, but their most recent series may be a sign they have turned the corner in that regard. The Giants hope to improve to 9-2 during their 13-game stretch against NL West rivals and post a fifth straight victory away from home when they begin a three-game set against the Colorado Rockies on Monday.

San Francisco entered last weekend with an NL-low 16 road wins and trailed division-leading Arizona by 5 1/2 games, but none of that seemed to matter as the team's somewhat inconsistent offense erupted for 16 runs to complete a sweep of the Diamondbacks after winning Friday's opener 2-1. With their 10th victory in 12 games, the Giants (45-40) moved a season-high five games over .500 and remained even with the Los Angeles Dodgers for second place in the West. The Rockies (41-43) were denied a chance to reach the break-even mark on Sunday, dropping a 6-4 decision to the Dodgers to end their three-game winning streak. San Francisco and Colorado have split 10 contests this season, although the Giants have won three of the last four meetings after taking two of three at home last week.

TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (1-2, 2.51 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Kyle Freeland (7-6, 3.29)

Bumgarner has recorded four quality starts in five trips to the mound since coming off the disabled list in early June and is riding a streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings over his last two outings. The four-time All-Star has yielded a total of five hits and struck out 16 batters over that span but did not factor in the decision Wednesday despite spinning seven scoreless frames against Colorado. Bumgarner is 12-7 with a 2.92 ERA in 27 career starts versus the Rockies.

Freeland went toe-to-toe with Bumgarner on Wednesday and also did not receive a decision despite tossing seven scoreless innings while registering his third straight quality start. The 25-year-old native of Denver has allowed more than three runs only once in his last 12 turns and logged at least six frames in each of his five outings last month. Freeland defeated the Giants in his first two starts against them this season and is 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA in seven appearances versus San Francisco.

WALK-OFFS

1. Giants 2B Joe Panik is 5-for-13 with a homer in his last three contests, scoring once and driving in two runs each time.

2. Despite going 8-for-35 over his last nine contests, Colorado 3B Nolan Arenado has recorded five homers and eight RBIs over that span.

3. San Francisco 3B Pablo Sandoval is day-to-day with a deep right elbow bruise after being hit by a pitch early in Sunday's win.

PREDICTION: Giants 3, Rockies 2