http://0rz.tw/nraIq Vogelsong, Ross lead Giants to sweep of Rockies By Chris Haft / MLB.com | 5/8/2011 10:13 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO -- The cheering began as Ryan Vogelsong began striding to the dugout upon leaving the game and reached a crescendo when he doffed his cap to reciprocate the fans' appreciation. Sunday proved euphoric for Vogelsong, another packed house at AT&T Park and, of course, for the Giants. They defeated the Colorado Rockies, 3-0, to complete a three-game sweep of the National League West leaders behind Vogelsong's 6 1/3 solid innings and Cody Ross' three RBIs. Having dropped a series finale four times after winning the first two games, the Giants finally finished the job while improving to 5-1 this season against Colorado. "It can snowball for us," Ross said, referring to the momentum San Francisco established while trimming Colorado's division lead to one game. It's obviously too early to dwell on the standings. Most likely, the Giants and Rockies will continue to wrestle for West supremacy all season. Colorado will receive a chance to avenge this weekend when San Francisco visits Denver on May 16-17. "Over the course of a six-month schedule you're going to step into a pothole and that's what we did," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "As we go forth from here, we'll find out the mettle of our club. It's that simple." For the Giants, the day was perfect. So was Vogelsong through five innings. He retired the first 15 Rockies he faced before Chris Iannetta singled cleanly up the middle on a 1-1 pitch to open the sixth inning. Vogelsong encountered trouble with one out in the seventh inning when he issued his lone walk, to Carlos Gonzalez, and Troy Tulowitzki reached on shortstop Mike Fontenot's fielding error. In came left-hander Javier Lopez, who induced Jason Giambi's inning-ending double-play grounder with his second pitch. "It's not easy to take out a guy throwing a one-hitter," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. Then again, not much about Vogelsong's saga has been easy. The 33-year-old right-hander began his professional career as a Giants fifth-round draftee in 1998 before being sent to Pittsburgh in the July 2001 Jason Schmidt trade. Beginning in 2007, Vogelsong played in Japan for three years before returning to the U.S. and performing at the Triple-A level last year. But his consistency as a non-roster invitee to Spring Training with the Giants prompted them to summon him when Barry Zito's right foot injury sidelined him last month. Thus, Vogelsong (2-0) savored the crowd's salute that accented his first appearance at AT&T Park as a member of the Giants since July 21, 2001, against Arizona. "That's the best experience I've ever had in baseball," he said. "Just the whole day in general -- my first start here as a Giant, then to pitch like that, then to have the fans recognize not only the way I pitched but also the journey that it's been. To have them recognize that and give me an ovation, that's what made it the best thing ever." Vogelsong's teammates -- the "castoffs and misfits" who won the 2010 World Series -- could relate. Said Ross, "I can only imagine what kind of emotions he was going through after being drafted by this team and the road it's taken him to get here." Vogelsong also applied the best-ever rating to his 95-pitch, 60-strike effort, which followed a forgettable four-inning, five-run outing last Tuesday at New York. "I think in New York, I didn't come out aggressively enough," said. "Today I said, 'Just go out there and go after them with your best stuff from the first inning.' ... The biggest thing that happened today was I was able to adjust pitch to pitch. If I missed a pitch, I felt in my body right away what I did and was able to fix it on the next pitch." The Rockies nagged Vogelsong only occasionally while he remained perfect. Second baseman Freddy Sanchez made slick plays in each of the first two innings and Giambi launched a fifth-inning drive that center fielder Aaron Rowand caught two steps in front of the wall. "I'm not going to say I thought I was going to do it, but I was feeling pretty good," Vogelsong said. For once, the Giants felt good against Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa (4-1), who entered the game with a 7-1 career record against San Francisco. The left-hander survived three first-inning walks by coaxing Fontenot's double-play grounder and striking out Pat Burrell. But he never quite found his form, and the Giants capitalized. They opened the scoring with one out in the fourth inning as Burrell doubled and scored when Ross rapped a 3-1 pitch to left field. Two innings later, Buster Posey drew a one-out walk before Ross batted with two outs. He drilled a full-count pitch into the left-field seats for his first homer of the year and second extra-base hit of the season. Chants of "Cody, Cody, Cody" followed shortly. Ross flashed his familiar grin when asked about the fan reaction. "It's been awhile since I've heard the 'Cody' chant," he said, referring to his struggles following a right calf injury. "But it's always nice when the crowd gets behind you." Just ask Vogelsong. Chris Haft is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. --

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