http://0rz.tw/XVxdq Long balls don't carry Giants far enough By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com | 4/17/2011 10:15 PM ET PHOENIX -- It wasn't as if Aubrey Huff was going to traverse an entire season without hitting a homer, but he picked game No. 15 on Sunday at Chase Field as an opportune time to blast No. 1. Huff's fourth-inning homer off D-backs starter Barry Enright was one of three Giants long balls on the day, although the defending World Series champs dropped a 6-5 decision to Arizona, which salvaged the final tilt of the three-game weekend series. Huff was long gone from the game in the 12th inning when Stephen Drew singled home Justin Upton from second off left-hander Javier Lopez, the fifth Giants reliever of the day. Drew had three RBIs as the D-backs snapped San Francisco's modest four-game winning streak. "The point's moot because we lost, but it was good to get on board," said Huff, who hadn't hit a regular season homer since Sept. 25 at Colorado, but had one long knock in the team's World Series victory over the Rangers. "I've definitely been on longer streaks than that, but not one at the start of the season, I don't think. It was just a matter of time before I got hot." The Giants still won the series on the road, and have been victorious in seven of their last 10 games since opening 1-4. They now travel to Denver to play a three-game set beginning Monday night against the blazing Rockies, who hold first place by four games in the National League West. To be sure, it's only mid-April. But the way things are shaking out early, the series boasts what looks like the top teams in the West -- and will have long-range implications. "The Rockies are playing good ball, right now. They're really hot," Huff said. "If they stay this hot all year, then good for them. It's just one of those things. They're 12-3 or whatever they are. They're playing great baseball. Hopefully, we go in and slow them down a little bit." Huff added a sacrifice fly in a four-run Giants sixth, giving him 10 RBIs on the season. That was followed by back-to-back homers off the bats of Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval. The homers were the second of the series for both players. Posey's two-run shot matched his blast in Saturday evening's victory, and was his third of the season. Sandoval's homer was his fourth. He also hit a three-run homer in Friday night's win. Posey's blast chased Enright and tied the score at 4. Sandoval hit his on the second pitch from reliever Esmerling Vasquez, giving the Giants a 5-4 lead. It was the first time this season the Giants hit back-to-back homers. Just like that, the D-backs' bullpen shut down the Giants' offense. After Sandoval's homer, five Arizona relievers retired the final 20 of 21 San Francisco hitters, including the last 16 in a row. Aaron Rowand singled with two out in the seventh and was the last Giant to reach base. Still, the Giants might have won anyway had second baseman Freddy Sanchez cleanly fielded an infield single off the bat of Miguel Montero with a runner on first and two out in the eighth. Montero just beat the throw after Sanchez recovered from bobbling the ball. Moments later, Ryan Roberts singled home the run that tied the score at 5. D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said that maintaining composure was a big issue for his 6-8 team in beating the Giants. "They believe in themselves, regardless of what the score is," he said. "They had their way with us the first two games. They've beaten us 15 of the last 19 times we've faced them. So they've got a good feeling playing against us. Confidence is big in this game." Huff knows that's the honest truth. Two years ago, he split his season between the Orioles and Tigers, and hit 15 home runs. The Giants picked him up off the scrap heap a month before Spring Training in 2010, and signed him to a one-year, $3 million contract. Huff hit 26 homers and knocked in 86 runs to become a mainstay of a team that won the World Series for the first time since 1954. In return, the Giants signed him to a two-year deal that will guarantee him $22 million. Huff, at 34, now has his stature and his place. When paychecks were passed out in the clubhouse before the series began, Huff dropped his to the floor and quipped that he needed "a crane to pick it up." Not that he was a pauper beforehand, but this is pretty heady stuff. And with all that money comes the much higher expectations. "He can hit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "When all's said and done, his numbers are going to be pretty good." Barry M. Bloom is national reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Boomskie on Baseball. Follow @boomskie on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. --

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