The Rockies look to steal a series from the division leading Giants, who will be sending out an improved Tim Lincecum to counter the Rockies' Jeff Francis.
Lincecum is coming off a strange outing against the Dodgers in which he walked seven batters but only allowed two earned runs. Lincecum has, overall, improved significantly in the second half but is still on pace to have his worst career season. He last faced the Rockies on August 10th in San Francisco, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. He was stuck with the loss, but this was the last start Lincecum lasted all the way through seven innings. For the year, Lincecum's decline is pretty much across the board; he's walking a lot more, allowing a lot more hits, and being hit a lot harder. His strikeout numbers are down, but not as significantly, and he's still a very productive strikeout pitcher.
Three of Jeff Francis' last four starts have been among his best of the year, with only the rotten start against San Diego in the middle. Francis' last start against the Giants was at Coors on August 5th, and it was ugly. He lasted just three and two thirds innings, allowing six runs on nine hits. Francis' overall numbers this year are his best in quite some time. He's striking out batters only just ahead of career norms, but it's his best K/9 rate since his supreme year in 2007. Francis' walk numbers, on the other hand, have been excellent ever since his injury in 2008, and have continued to shine. Francis' biggest weakness continues to be hits, especially early in the game. Francis has always allowed a lot of hits, and he is allowing an entire extra hit per nine innings above his career norm.