DENVER -- Darren Oliver might want to consider pitching from the stretch all the time.
Oliver threw six scoreless innings and hit an RBI double to win for the first time in nearly a month as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Sunday.
Oliver (2-3) allowed seven hits and worked out of trouble most of the day, benefiting from three double plays in his first victory since April 27 against the Chicago Cubs.
"He pitched a good ballgame. Pitched out of the stretch most of the ballgame, but pitched a good ballgame," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "It might be the secret for success. He was very good when he needed to be."
The Giants had 11 hits in their second straight game without ailing star Barry Bonds, but didn't score until Neifi Perez hit a run-scoring triple off Jose Jimenez with two outs in the ninth inning.
San Francisco had runners on first and third in the seventh, but Justin Speier got Marquis Grissom to ground into a double play - Colorado's fourth of the game - to end the inning.
Greg Norton hit a two-run double in the bottom half to put the Rockies up 5-0.
"I have been running, stealing bags, trying to get things going," said Giants manager Felipe Alou, whose team has lost 10 of 15. "I didn't want to wait and see how things happened, and we still hit into four double plays."
The Giants had plenty of chances against Oliver, but the left-hander came up with a big pitch every time.
In the third inning, Perez led off with a double and Oliver hit starter Jesse Foppert with a pitch while he was attempting to bunt. Grissom reached on a fielder's choice, then Jose Cruz Jr. struck out and Rich Aurilia walked on four pitches to load the bases. Oliver ended the inning by getting Benito Santiago to ground out.
Oliver also stranded Santiago at second after a leadoff double in the second inning and left Andres Galarraga and Edgardo Alfonzo on the bases in the fourth after they led off with consecutive singles.
"I am definitely keeping them busy," said Oliver, who has pitched at least five innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in his last four starts. "You can work your way out of problems with those double-play balls."
Foppert (2-4) held Colorado to four hits in his first game at Coors Field, but struggled with his control.
He threw two wild pitches in the first two innings, and several other deliveries bounced before reaching the plate. One didn't even make it to the dirt.
"I couldn't make the adjustment with my off-speed pitches," Foppert said. "I was burying everything and couldn't get the ball up. My pitches never had a chance of being in the strike zone."
Colorado loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, but got just one run on Jose Hernandez's sacrifice fly.
Foppert wasn't as lucky in the second.
He walked Charles Johnson to lead off the inning and Oliver followed with a run-scoring double to left-center. Ronnie Belliard made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly after Oliver went to third on a wild pitch.
Foppert allowed three runs - two earned - and walked three before being pulled after four innings.
"When you throw 84 pitches, that means you've thrown a lot of pitches in not many innings," Alou said. "And we weren't scoring many runs. Maybe if we had a lead we might have had another inning."
Bonds tested his sore right knee on a stationary bike before the game, but Alou said the five-time MVP will not play until the Giants return to San Francisco on Tuesday.
Pedro Feliz was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts after hitting homers in consecutive games in place of Bonds.
Notes: Colorado CF Preston Wilson, tied with Cincinnati's Austin Kearns and Atlanta's Gary Sheffield for the NL lead with 44 RBIs, was given the day off. Gabe Kapler started in his place. ... Perez was 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to six games. ... Colorado RF Larry Walker has walked 12 times the past four games, including three on Sunday. ... Santiago was back in the lineup after missing Saturday's game with a fever. He has hit safely in eight straight games since moving to the cleanup spot.
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