SAN FRANCISCO — A pumped-up crowd of 41,275 at AT&T Park. Two excellent right-handers on the mound. Scoreboard watching.
Thursday night had all the elements of a playoff game. Indeed, it was as close to a playoff game as the Rockies will get this season.
They weren’t up to the challenge.
The San Francisco Giants, needing every victory to stay afloat in the National League wild-card race, got a clutch performance from Johnny Cueto and took advantage of sloppy play by the Rockies to win 7-2.
Cueto tied a season high with 11 strikeouts as he gave up two runs on nine hits over seven innings.