I don't have much patience for people who claim that Coors Field is ruining baseball, but on the other hand, it is a rare treat when we get two pitchers' duels in a row on a homestand. It's too bad today's contest couldn't have been the nationally televised one, because more people should know about Jeff Francis. The Rockies' young lefty wasn't fabulous today (7 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, a Lance Niekro solo shot), but he kept the Giants from stringing much of anything together and claimed his fourth win.

The Colorado bullpen continued its unexpected resurgence as Jose Acevedo, Jay Witasick, and Brian Fuentes combined to allow three hits (and vitally, no walks) after Francis's solid six innings of work. Brett Tomko was pretty good for the Giants, especially given his past history in Denver, giving up only a Luis ("N.R.") Gonzalez homer and a Cory Sullivan RBI double. Garrett Atkins homered off Matt Herges in the sixth to round out the scoring.

Clint Barmes skipped a start after his hitting streak came to an end last night; Desi Relaford provided a 2-for-3, one-walk day in his stead. Cory Sullivan continued to make a case for everyday playing time with a 3-for-4 game. Atkins added a single to his homer. Other than that, Tomko and the Giants' pen were pretty tough.

This was old-school National League ball, right down to Felipe Alou sending Omar Vizquel up to the plate for Tomko way late in the sixth, attempting to throw Francis out of his rhythm. In the end, though, the Rockies will take 2 of 3 from San Francisco however they can get it. It doesn't get any easier going on from here.