First pitch is 2:10 PM CT at Coors Field, with Robbie Ray (3-6, 4.60) trying to stop the bleeding against Tanner Gordon (0-0, 5.85). Ray's last time out was a mess — 4 innings, 7 walks against the White Sox — so the idea of him navigating thin air with no command is the kind of thing that should keep Giants fans away from the TV.
Gordon, meanwhile, actually gave Colorado something useful last Monday in LA: 5 innings, 1 earned run on 80 pitches against the Dodgers. He's not a name, but he's been steadier than his ERA suggests, and at home in this series he just needs to hand the ball off with a lead. The Rockies have done the rest, putting up 8 runs in each of the first 2 games.
San Francisco's slide is uglier the closer you look. 5 in a row, swept at home by Arizona, then steamrolled out of the gate here. The lineup is short Heliot Ramos and Harrison Bader, the rotation just lost Tyler Mahle to a hamstring, and the bullpen is a triage unit with Birdsong, Rodriguez, Foley, Wick and Butto all on the 60-day. That's not a slump, that's a roster problem.
- 10-Day-ILHarrison Bader CF — Bader isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Colorado, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILHeliot Ramos LF — Ramos received a PRP injection in his injured right quadriceps and will be shut down for one week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILTyler Mahle SP — The Giants placed Mahle on the 15-day injured list Friday, retroactive to Wednesday, due to a left hamstring strain, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILReiver Sanmartin RP — Sanmartin (hip) tossed a scoreless inning in Triple-A Sacramento's 11-6 win over Sugar Land on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILJason Foley RP — Foley (shoulder) earned a hold in Triple-A Sacramento's 6-5 loss to Round Rock on Wednesday, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning.
- 60-Day-ILJared Oliva CF — The Giants transferred Oliva (wrist) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILRowan Wick RP — The Giants placed Wick (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILHayden Birdsong RP — Birdsong underwent successful UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- Day-To-DayBrayan Castillo RP — The Rockies announced Monday that Castillo is dealing with right lat tightness and has been shut down from throwing while undergoing treatment for the injury, TheDNVR.com reports.
- Day-To-DayCase Williams SP — Williams is currently slowed by a stress reaction in his right triceps, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DayJared Thomas CF — The Rockies announced Monday that Thomas hasn't been participating in spring training while he recovers from offseason surgery to address a fractured hamate bone in his right wrist, TheDNVR.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILMickey Moniak LF — Moniak is not in the starting lineup Thursday night against Arizona.
- 10-Day-ILBrenton Doyle CF — The Rockies announced that Doyle is considered day-to-day after suffering a left oblique contusion during Tuesday's 10-0 loss to the Rangers, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJordan Beck LF — Beck went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Saturday against Atlanta.
- 15-Day-ILWelinton Herrera RP — The Rockies recalled Herrera from Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday.
- 15-Day-ILChase Dollander SP — Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said Wednesday that Dollander (elbow) will be shut down from throwing for the next 2-to-3 weeks, MLB.com reports.
Colorado isn't exactly the 1927 Yankees either — Kris Bryant is still parked on the 60-day with the same back issue, Chase Dollander is shut down 2-to-3 weeks, and Jose Quintana hit the IL with a left elbow sprain this week. But at 22-37 and finally winning baseball games again, the Rockies will absolutely take the layup of a 5-loss Giants team rolling into Coors.
The market sees the Giants as small road favorites at -120 with the total at 10.5, which feels generous to San Francisco given how Ray is throwing the ball. If you're betting it, the under has been the cleaner read in a series that's already produced 25 runs through 2 games — but Coors gonna Coors. Either way, the Giants need to win one before they fly home and admit this trip happened.