Gonzalez hits 2 HRs as Rockies rout Giants 11-3
DENVER (AP) -- Carlos Gonzalez homered twice for the second straight night, Chris Rusin pitched a complete game and the Colorado Rockies routed the reeling San Francisco Giants 11-3 on Thursday night.
Gonzalez hit a pair of two-run homers to take the NL lead with a career-high 35. He finished with four hits and drove in four runs to lead Colorado's season-high 19-hit effort.
Nolan Arenado homered for the fourth consecutive game.
Gonzalez's big night helped extend San Francisco's losing streak to six. The Giants are now seven games back in the NL West and the Wild Card chase.
San Francisco was swept by the Dodgers in three one-run games heading into Thursday, but there was no drama against the Rockies.
Gonzalez, who hit a grand slam and a two-run homer in his last two at-bats against Arizona on Wednesday, went deep in the first off Ryan Vogelsong in Colorado's four-run first. The outfielder greeted reliever George Kontos with a shot down the right-field line in the fourth to give Colorado a 9-2 lead. He has 11 RBIs in his last two games.
Gonzalez has 16 career multi-homer games in his career, including six this season which have all come since July 24. He doubled in the second and singled in the ninth ahead of Arenado's 34th homer of the season.
Vogelsong (9-11) allowed eight runs -- seven earned -- on 11 hits in three-plus innings or the struggling Giants.
Rusin (5-7) bounced back from a rough road trip to pitch go the distance. He wasn't as sharp as he was on Aug. 16 when he pitched a shutout against San Diego but he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out five.
Rusin has a 1.50 ERA in his last two home starts. He is the first Rockies pitcher to throw two complete games at Coors Field since Aaron Cook did it in 2008.
THIS OLD MAN
Vogelsong hit his first career home run in the third. At 38 years, 43 days, he is the oldest player in franchise history to hit his first home run.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Giants: SS Brandon Crawford missed his third straight game with a swollen left calf. He suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch Monday against the Dodgers.
Rockies: OF Corey Dickerson (right rib fracture) went 1 for 4 as the designated hitter in a rehab assignment for Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday. Dickerson is tentatively scheduled to play the field for the Isotopes this weekend and could be activated early next week.
UP NEXT
Giants: RHP Chris Heston(11-8, 3.56 ERA) will try to end San Francisco's skid Friday night. Heston allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Cardinals on Sunday.
Rockies: LHP Jorge De La Rosa (8-6, 4.40) is coming off six shutout innings against Pittsburgh. He is 9-6 with a 4.05 ERA in 25 career games -- 22 starts -- against the Giants.