Colorado ace Cook hurt, Sanchez leads Giants to 6-3 win over Rockies in opener of big series

Giants take opener of crucial series with Rockies

DENVER — Jonathan Sanchez tossed five solid innings, Aaron Rowand hit a three-run homer and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 6-3 on Friday night in the opener of an important four-game series.

Sanchez (6-10) allowed an unearned run and two hits to win for just the third time since his no-hitter against San Diego on July 10. The left-hander’s strong outing couldn’t have come at a more opportune time for the Giants, who pulled within a game of the Rockies in the NL wild-card chase.

Colorado played without star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who was ill, and ace right-hander Aaron Cook headed to the clubhouse with a sore right shoulder in the fourth inning.

Sanchez struck out eight and walked four in handing the Rockies a rare setback at Coors Field, where Colorado had won 25 of its first 35 games under Jim Tracy, who took over from fired manager Clint Hurdle on May 29.

Cook (10-6) was removed after he walked Nate Schierholtz on four pitches leading off the fourth. Josh Fogg came in and gave up Rowand’s 11th homer after Travis Ishikawa reached on second baseman Ian Stewart’s error.

Cook labored through a 47-pitch outing, allowing four earned runs and three hits with four walks. In his previous start at Florida on Sunday, he allowed a season-high seven runs in just 2 1-3 innings.

It was a disappointing series opener for Colorado and the large crowd at Coors Field. The Rockies had gone 50-25 since Tracy took over, becoming just the seventh team in major league history to go 15 games over .500 after being as many as a dozen under .500 in one season. But they got off to a slow start and finished with three errors.

Cook gave up three runs in the first before the crowd of 43,666 had even settled in. Bengie Molina drove in a run with a ground-rule double, Schierholtz followed with a sacrifice fly and Ishikawa punched a run-scoring single up the middle.

Colorado got a run back in the first when left fielder Eugenio Velez mishandled Todd Helton’s single, allowing Dexter Fowler to score.

The Rockies had numerous scoring opportunities squelched by San Francisco before loading the bases on two walks and a hit batter in the seventh. Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt came in and got Helton to hit into a 1-2-3 double play on a full-count 96 mph fastball to end the threat.

Seth Smith connected for a pinch-hit homer off Affeldt in the eighth.

With Tulowitzki ailing, Clint Barmes moved over from second base to play shortstop, Stewart moved from third to second and Garrett Atkins played third base and was inserted into the cleanup spot despite his .226 average and eight home runs.

Atkins went 1 for 5 with an RBI single in the ninth before Brian Wilson struck out pinch-hitter Omar Quintanilla with two on to end the game.

The Giants were without their star infielder, Freddy Sanchez, who sat out his fourth straight game with a sore left shoulder.

NOTES: The Rockies signed LHP Tyler Matzek, the 11th overall pick in the draft, for $3.9 million. … According to research by the Elias Sports Bureau, Giants RHP Bob Howry is the first pitcher in major league history to allow three game-ending homers to rookies in his career — and Howry’s allowed all of them this season, to St. Louis’ Colby Rasmus on July 1, Pittsburgh’s Garrett Jones on July 17 and Cincinnati’s Drew Stubbs on Thursday. … Rockies hitters have struck out 78 times in the last seven games.