Giants fall to Rockies 3-1; Madison Bumgarner off to worst start since 2011

SAN FRANCISCO - Trevor Story hit a two-run homer and five Colorado pitchers combined on a five-hitter in the Rockies’ 3-1 victory against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.

Colorado starter Jon Gray left with a re-aggravated toe injury after allowing one hit in three scoreless innings. Chris Rusin (1-0) pitched the next 3? innings, allowing one run and two hits. Adam Ottavino got four outs in a row, Mike Dunn got one more and Greg Holland pitched the ninth for his sixth consecutive save this season.

Gray originally hurt the big toe on his left foot during spring training. It was unclear whether he reinjured the toe during this game, and the Rockies did not immediately say whether he’ll miss his next start.

Story’s first home run of the season came with two outs in the fourth inning against Giants starter Madison Bumgarner (0-2), who allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out eight. It is the worst start to a season for Bumgarner, a four-time All-Star, since he went 0-6 in his first eight starts in 2011.

Mark Reynolds added a run-scoring single in the sixth inning for the Rockies.

The Giants’ only run came on a sacrifice fly by Eduardo Nunez in the seventh inning.

Shortstop Brandon Crawford was not in the starting lineup for the Giants after driving to Los Angeles on Wednesday night with his wife, Jalynne, to join her family after the death of her oldest sister. He rejoined the team before Thursday night’s game and pinch-hit in the eighth inning, grounding out to first base on the first pitch he saw.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: First baseman Ian Desmond, who broke his left hand during spring training, has started to play catch and take a few ground balls, manager Bud Black said, adding that “these are good signs for Ian.” Desmond is with the team, but no timetable for his return has been set, Black said.

Giants: Catcher Buster Posey is lifting weights and doing some cardio workouts as he recovers from concussion symptoms. Manager Bruce Bochy said he’s optimistic Posey will be able to return April 18 when he comes off the disabled list. “He’s feeling good, he’s doing well,” Bochy said. “We’re going to ramp it up a little bit and see how he does.”

UP NEXT

Rockies: Tyler Anderson starts the second game of the four-game series in San Francisco.

Giants: Johnny Cueto faces the Rockies, against whom he is 5-0 with a 1.33 ERA over his last seven starts. He went 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in four starts against Colorado last season.

UPTON SIGNS MINORS DEAL

Melvin Upton Jr. signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday and the veteran outfielder is working out at extended spring training in Arizona.

The deal had been in the works and Upton needed a physical to finalize it. It’s unclear yet what role Upton might have and when he could join the Giants to offer some depth in the outfield. He was released by Toronto at the end of spring training.

“He’s got some pop,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s had some big years offensively. I talked to some people that saw him in spring and they said he had a pretty good spring training. He’s a guy with a lot of experience. He’s definitely worth taking a look at to see if he can help us.”

The 32-year-old Upton would likely need some games initially with Triple-A Sacramento before joining the Giants. He batted .238 with 20 home runs, 15 doubles, three triples and 61 RBIs while striking out 155 times in 149 games between the Padres and Blue Jays last season. He also stole 27 bases in 35 attempts.

The Giants could use some help in left field. San Francisco started three players there through the first nine games this season: Aaron Hill, Chris Marrero and Jarrett Parker. Gorkys Hernandez has also played there.