DENVER — Ian Desmond picked a good time to get his first home run at Coors Field as a member of the Colorado Rockies.
Desmond hit a game-changing three-run homer in the fifth and finished with four RBIs to help the Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 10-8 on Friday night.
Colorado rookie Antonio Senzatela battled through six innings to tie for the major league lead in wins, and DJ LeMahieu had four hits for the second straight game for the Rockies, who have won seven straight over the Giants.
Desmond, who signed a five-year, $70 million contract in the offseason, hasn’t showed much power after starting the season on the disabled list. Friday’s homer was just his fifth but it gave the Rockies a lead they never ceded.
“Our pitchers have been carrying us all year long and I just want to pick them up,” Desmond said. “That’s all we want to do. To be able to deliver with two strikes, we needed that. For me it was nice to help out Senzatela and the team.”
Senzatela (9-2) tied Clayton Kershaw, Dallas Keuchel and Jason Vargas for the most wins despite giving up three home runs. Joe Panik, who also doubled twice, and Denard Span had solo shots and starter Jeff Samardzija (2-9) hit a two-run homer that gave the Giants a 4-1 lead in the fifth.
“It wasn’t a really good game for me but we won. That’s good,” Senzatela said. “I tried to keep the game close and we were hitting good. I pitched six innings but I put the team in a bad situation but they support me and put us back in the game.”
The Rockies rallied for five runs in the bottom of the fifth, three on Desmond’s homer. Trevor Story hit a pinch-hit homer in the sixth and Desmond had a sacrifice fly in Colorado’s three-run seventh.
The Giants got two in the eighth and one more in the ninth off closer Greg Holland, who earned his major league best 24th save.
San Francisco has lost four straight and 13 of 17 to fall 17 games below .500.
“We had the winning run up there,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We just can’t finish it off.”
Bochy was ejected by home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom in the top of the seventh for arguing balls and strikes after Samardzija walked LeMahieu in a seven-pitch battle.
“Listen, we’re in the seventh inning. Lot of emotions,” Samardzija said. “I was out there fighting. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner is scheduled to throw a bullpen session in Arizona on Saturday. He has been out since mid-April with a left shoulder AC strain suffered in a dirt bike accident in Colorado.
Rockies: RHP Chad Bettis threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Friday in his road back from cancer treatment. Bettis, who led the Rockies pitchers in wins last season, has been out while receiving chemotherapy for testicular cancer. “He’s feeling good, there’s a smile on his face,” manager Bud Black said. “We love having him around.”
BEST-CASE SCENARIO
Giants catcher Buster Posey and infielder Eduardo Nunez were feeling fine after both left Thursday’s game with injuries. Posey hurt his left ankle hitting a home run but didn’t need an MRI or X-ray. He walked as a pinch-hitter Friday.
“I don’t know if we could have gotten better news because he was in a lot of pain,” Bochy said. “I thought it was going to be quite a while but we got the news much later that he’s doing so much better. It was a little bit of an impingement, maybe some scar tissue.”
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Matt Cain (3-5, 5.22 ERA) will make his 39th career start against the Rockies, the most by any pitcher in major league history. He is 17-10 with a 3.52 ERA all-time against Colorado.
Rockies: Rookie RHP Kyle Freeland (7-4, 3.57 ERA) tossed seven shutout innings in his only start against San Francisco on April 23 at Coors Field.
