Slugging first baseman C.J. Cron and lefty starter Kyle Freeland produced as they have for much of the season.

But the Rockies’ duo got precious little help from its supporting cast in a 6-3 loss to the Giants on Tuesday night at Coors Field.

Cron hit a solo home run in the sixth off of Sean Hjelle to finally get the Rockies on the scoreboard and added a two-run double off the center-field wall in the eighth, cutting San Francisco’s lead to 5-3. He also singled in the first inning to finish the night a triple shy of the cycle.

But take away Cron’s power supply and Colorado’s offense was lackluster. The Rockies had 10 hits but finished the night 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

“It’s good to see from ‘Cronie,’ ” manager Bud Black said. “A lot of guys in the second half (of the season) have had a little bit of a struggle. (Randal) Grichuk has had a pretty good second half and Cron had a monster first half with his numbers and the All-Star nod.”

Colorado put two baserunners on in the ninth on a single by Grichuk and a walk by Alan Trejo, but Ryan McMahon flew out to Austin Slater down the left-field line in foul territory. Slater made a terrific sliding catch to end the game.

Cron’s homer was his 29th of the season, leaving him one shy of the career-high 30 he hit for Tampa Bay in 2018. His three RBIs gave him 101, the first time in his career he’s reached triple digits. He became the first Rockies player since Nolan Arenado in 2019 to drive in at least 100 runs. Arenado had 118 RBIs in ’19.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Cron said. “It’s something I can look back on and be pretty proud of, but I think RBIs are kind of a team stat. Guys in front of me are giving me opportunities and I guess hitting in the middle of the order I have a chance to drive them in, more often than not. So it’s all credit to them. They are getting on base and I’m kind of doing my job in the middle.”

Black, however, still gives RBIs a lot of weight, and he tipped his cap to Cron.

“It’s good to see C.J. drive in 100 runs, that’s a great milestone for any player,” Black said. “And good for C.J. at this point in his career. Plus, he’s knocking on the door of 30 home runs. So traditional numbers — 30 and 100 — that’s a legit season.”

Cron has hit five home runs this month after hitting just two in August.

Freeland certainly pitched well enough for the Rockies to win the game. He allowed three runs (just two earned) on five hits, with four strikeouts and one walk over six innings.

“I didn’t have a great command of the strike zone at the beginning of the game but I was able to work back from there and get back into it,” Freeland said.

Freeland lowered his ERA to 4.38, not stellar by any means, but easily the best among all of Colorado’s starters. And as the season winds down, the left-hander is pitching well, having given up two or fewer earned runs in each of his last five starts, good for a 1.84 ERA over that span.

“I think the execution of my pitches has definitely gone up, as of late,” Freeland said. “I’ve been doing a good job, when I have hitters in an advantage count, of executing my pitches and getting a strikeout, flyout, or a weak groundball.”

Black has seen Freeland improve as the season’s gone on.

“He’s thrown better strikes within the strike zone, as far as command,” Black said. “When you do that, you are going to succeed.”

Tuesday night, Freeland deserved a better line and a better fate. In the third, Joey Bart led off with a sky-high flyball to left field. Yonathan Daza ran under the ball but it glanced off his glove and Bart ended up at third. Bart subsequently scored on Mike Yastrzemski’s two-out single. Bart was originally credited with a triple but the official scorer later changed the call to an error on Daza.

The only inning in which Freeland got rocked was the Giants’ two-run sixth. Slater, Thairo Estrada and Evan Longoria torched Freeland with three consecutive triples.

The Giants packed the game away with a two-run seventh off of right-hander Jake Bird. David Villar led off with a 424-foot homer to left, then Bart singled and scored on Slater’s double to right field.

The Giants added an insurance run in the ninth off Dinelson Lamet, who opened the inning by walking Bart. Lamet struck out the next two hitters but then plunked Slater and gave up an RBI single to Thairo Estrada.

Rodgers’ hamstring. Second baseman Brendan Rodgers was pretty sure his sore left hamstring injury was nothing serious. He was correct.

An MRI revealed no serious damage and Rodgers is not headed to the injured list. Manager Bud Black said Tuesday that Rodgers is considered day-to-day.

Rodgers was removed from Sunday’s game against the Cubs in Chicago before the second inning. He pulled up limping as he neared the first-base bag when he grounded out to second in the first inning.

On Deck
Giants RHP Logan Webb (13-9, 3.02 ERA) at Rockies RHP Germán Márquez (8-11, 5.14)
6:40 p.m. Wednesday, Coors Field
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

Marquez pitched well but received no offensive support in Colorado’s 2-1 loss to the Cubs last Thursday at Wrigley Field. The right-hander was charged with two runs on six hits in seven innings. Marquez beat the Giants on June 7 in San Francisco, allowing three runs on four hits over six innings, walking four and striking out seven. A couple of really bad performances have skewed Marquez’s career numbers against the Giants. He’s 5-8 with a 6.98 ERA. Marquez has struggled at home this season, going 2-5 with a 6.78 ERA.

Webb is coming off a lackluster start in San Francisco’s 5-0 loss to the Dodgers last Friday. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks, with two strikeouts, in four innings. The fact that he needed 90 pitches to get through four innings tells you that he struggled with his command.  He’ll be facing Colorado for the third time this season. In the Giants’ 5-3 loss on May 18 at Coors Field, he received a no-decision after pitching seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits. On June 9 at Oracle Park, he took the loss in a 4-2 defeat, giving up three runs (two earned) on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Trending: Outfielder Randal Grichuk entered Tuesday night’s game ranked fifth in the majors with a .322 home batting average. He’s slashed .380/.410/.620 with a 1.030 OPS at Coors Field in the second half of the season.

At issue: By virtue of their 10-7, 10-inning loss to the Giants on Monday night, the Rockies became just the fourth team since 2000 to lose a game despite recording at least 16 hits with their opponent committing four or more errors.

Pitching probables:
Thursday: Giants TBA at Rockies RHP José Ureña (3-6, 5.49), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM
Friday: Padres RHP Yu Darvish (15-7, 3.05) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (3-8, 6.05), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM