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Offense on the rise as Colorado Rockies head home

By Gethin Coolbaugh, The Sports Xchange
Colorado Rockies catcher Dustin Garneau and pitcher Jake McGee celebrate the third out and a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on May 17, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Colorado Rockies catcher Dustin Garneau and pitcher Jake McGee celebrate the third out and a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on May 17, 2016. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

BOSTON -- The Colorado Rockies' bats are coming alive just in time for an important three-game series against the San Francisco Giants.

After being outscored by 12 runs in their first two games at Fenway Park, the Rockies pounded out 12 hits in an 8-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

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"I thought the offense woke up tonight," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said.

The Rockies hope that their hot hitting will make the trip home with them to Coors Field, where they will face a Giants team with a 3.61 team ERA -- seventh best in the majors.

Dustin Garneau -- who slugged one of three two-run homers for Colorado on Thursday -- believes they will.

"We struggled the first two games here, but having this last game going into San Fran at home, it's huge for us," Garneau said. "That's a big division rival, and they're a hot team right now."

San Francisco has won five games in a row and 13 of its last 14.

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One player who can help the Rockies break through against the Giants is Carlos Gonzalez.

Gonzalez had a scorching series at Boston, batting .500 (8-for-16) and also hitting a two-run homer Thursday.

"I look for his rhythm and his timing, that's what I look at with CarGo," Weiss said. "He's got some moving parts, but when he's on time and it flows, he's able to get his 'A' swing off. You know some damage is coming, and that's what I saw the last couple days."

Although moving in the right direction, Gonzalez is a career .247 hitter with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs in 112 games against San Francisco.

He is hitting .115 with only one RBI in his last 26 at-bats against the Giants' Friday starter, Matt Cain. The right-hander is 17-10 with a 3.58 ERA in 37 career starts -- his most against a single opponent -- versus Colorado.

Fortunately, the Rockies have a few hitters who have gotten to Cain in the recent past.

Charlie Blackmon has a .353 average in his past 17 at-bats against Cain, while DJ LeMahieu is batting .333 over his last 15 at-bats against him.

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