DENVER -- Making life hard for contenders, far from an ideal goal, is more or less the Giants' lot in life this month. Dependable rookie Dereck Rodriguez did his part to give the Giants that modest pleasure Tuesday before a bullpen collapse in the seventh doomed San Francisco to a 6-2 loss to Colorado.
It was their seventh loss in eight games at Coors Field this season and their 17th in the past 19 games there. The Giants will conclude this season's play at Coors Field on Wednesday and try to avoid a second successive series sweep at the Rockies' home ballpark.
Rodriguez made his Major League debut at Coors Field in a relief appearance May 29 that lasted 3 1/3 innings and ended when he took an Ian Desmond liner off his right shin.
Making his first start at Coors Field on Tuesday, Rodriguez gave up one run on David Dahl's homer to open the second and six hits in six innings. It was the 11th time in 12 starts that Rodriguez has allowed two or fewer runs.
"I forgot how fun it is pitching here," Rodriguez said. "I just like really like the mound for some reason here. I don't know if it was because it's the first big league mound I stood on or what, but I just feel really comfortable with this mound and I feel comfortable throwing here."

Any chance Rodriguez had for the win quickly dissolved when the Rockies erupted for five runs in the seventh. Reyes Moronta began the inning and yielded a one-out homer to pinch-hitter Ryan McMahon that tied the game at 2. Moronta had yielded just three homers in 60 2/3 innings prior to Tuesday.
"I don't ever feel bad bringing him in," manager Bruce Bochy said. " He was just off tonight."
Charlie Blackmon followed with a high-bounce infield single. DJ LeMahieu walked, and after falling behind Nolan Arenado, Moronta walked him to load the bases, and Carlos Gonzalez cleared them with a triple to the gap in left-center field off left-hander Ty Blach on a 1-2 sinker that gave the Rockies a 5-2 lead.
The Rockies sent 11 batters to the plate against Moronta, Blach and Sam Dyson in the seventh and ended up scoring five runs in a rally that consisted of three hits and four walks, two of them intentional. It was the second straight game in which the Giants let a lead slip away. On Monday, they fought back from a 7-2 deficit, took an 8-7 lead in the eighth on back-to-back pinch-hit homers only to have the Rockies tally twice in the home half and win, 9-8.
"It's shame we can't hold onto some of these games, " Bochy said.

The Giants took a 2-1 lead in the seventh when Gorkys Hernandez belted his 15th homer. It came off German Marquez and was just their third hit off him since the first inning when they scored a run two hitters into the game on Joe Panik's single. The hit scored Gregor Blanco, who led off with a single and stole second.
The lead was short-lived as Dahl drove Rodriguez's 0-2 fastball over the wall in right for his ninth homer. Rodriguez took the mound having allowed just five homers in 91 innings in his previous 14 career starts.
"I felt like I was throwing all my pitches for strikes and felt like my curveball was breaking, so that's good," said Rodriguez, who threw 64 of 93 pitches for strikes.
Rodriguez said he got a sense his curveball could be effective here in his Major League debut three months ago and again Monday when he threw on flat ground.
Rodriguez said this was the first time he has ever pitched professionally in September. That turned out to be a slight miscalculation, since he pitched on Sept. 1 last season for Double-A Chattanooga while still in the Twins organization. But for Rodriguez, it was point made.
"It's nice [pitching in September]," Rodriguez said. "Hopefully [I'll] be here for many years to come and possibly in October."

SOUND SMART
Gorkys Hernandez has hit 20 career home runs. Eight have come against the Rockies, including seven this season. He has homered in each of the first two games of this series.
HE SAID IT
"He's done really an amazing job. Every time out he's done a terrific job not just keeping us in the game but better than quality starts. He comes in here and gives us another one. Had his breaking ball and slider, changeup. What a nice job he did." -- Bochy, on Rodriguez's latest strong start
UP NEXT
Rookie left-hander Andrew Suarez (6-9, 4.19 ERA) will start the series finale for the Giants. He's pitched seven scoreless innings in each of his past two starts, both at home against the Rangers and Mets. It marked the first time Suarez pitched seven innings in consecutive starts and the first time he went that deep into a game since July 4 at Coors Field, when he gave up five hits and one run in seven innings and lost, 1-0, to the Rockies. Suarez, who also faced the Rockies at Coors Field on May 28, is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his two career starts against them with one walk and 13 strikeouts in 12 innings. Right-hander Antonio Senzatela (4-5, 4.88 ERA) will take the hill for the Rockies in the 4:40 p.m. PT contest.