SAN FRANCISCO — Jake Peavy walked off the mound to a standing ovation from a spirited Fourth of July crowd, and that felt a whole lot better than the boos fired his way at times this season.
Peavy helped take the pressure off a taxed and tired bullpen for an afternoon, and got a couple of timely swings to back his impressive day.
Angel Pagan hit a two-run homer, Buster Posey also connected, and the Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 3-1 on Monday.
Peavy (5-7) struck out six over 6 2/3 innings to bounce back from his third-shortest outing of the season. He left to a standing ovation and tipped his cap while exiting in the seventh after a two-out single by pinch-hitter Cristhian Adames. Giants right fielder Mac Williamson made a beautiful diving catch to start the inning.
"Any time you’re walking off the field and you know you’ve done your job to the best of your ability and the results are there, you’re excited," Peavy said. "I love when the fans show support. It feels a whole lot better than it did walking off the mound with some of the stuff being said early in the year."
Nolan Arenado hit two doubles, but the run-starved Rockies lost their season-high sixth straight game and fourth in a row held to one or fewer runs.
Colorado loaded the bases in the second on Ryan Raburn’s one-out double, a single by Mark Reynolds and Nick Hundley’s walk before Peavy was called for a balk to force in the game’s first run.
But San Francisco got it right back on Posey’s 10th homer. Pagan, back in his old spot batting leadoff and playing centre field in place of the injured Denard Span, connected for his fourth home run in the third against Tyler Anderson (0-3).
The left-hander, making his fifth career start, allowed three runs and four hits in six innings while facing the Giants for the first time. He is still looking for first major league win.
Peavy was coming off just 3 1-3 innings in his last outing Wednesday at Oakland. He is 4-2 with a 2.27 ERA over his last eight outings, with the Giants going 6-2 in those.
"More than anything he’s doing a better job of pitching, backing off a little bit, changing speeds, hitting his spots," manager Bruce Bochy said.
Right-hander Sergio Romo was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list after being sidelined since April 11 with an elbow injury. He retired one batter in the seventh for his fifth appearance all year.
Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.
The Rockies have lost their last three July 4 games and are 0-4 on Independence Day in San Francisco.
"Putting it together was the problem," manager Walt Weiss said. "I thought our approach was better, we swung the bats better, but not well enough to put together a big inning."
RIGHETTI’S GEM
Monday marked the 33rd anniversary of Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti’s 1983 no-hitter, a 4-0 July 4 gem against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Umpires: Home plate umpire Gerry Davis — with a history of concussions — was hit three times, twice in the mask and then in the right arm in the fifth with Peavy on the mound. He stayed in the game. Umpire supervisor Ed Montague went to check on him after the fourth and trainers also examined him on the field.
Rockies: Rookie SS Trevor Story was back in the starting lineup for first time in four games. The All-Star candidate bruised his right middle finger after getting hit by a pitch on June 26. He came into Sunday’s game against the Dodgers in the seventh inning on a double switch. … RHP Adam Ottavino, out for more than two months with elbow soreness, joined the team Monday after rehab stints at Single-A Modesto and Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rockies’ closer could be activated before the All-Star break.
Giants: Bochy still plans to use Romo in a couple of non-pressure situations. "It’s been a long road for him," Bochy said. … Span missed his fourth straight game with a stiff neck and received trigger-point injections. … 2B Joe Panik is unlikely to return from a concussion until after the All-Star break.
