DENVER (AP) — Shoddy defense was the Colorado Rockies’ downfall Thursday night in an 8-5 loss to the San Francisco Giants and pitcher Jhoulys Chacin continued his three-month slide.

The Rockies entered the game tied for third in fielding percentage and fewest errors committed in the National League and typically don’t beat themselves.

But shortstop Tommy Field and first baseman Jordan Pacheco, both in their first days in the major leagues, made errors in a three-run second inning and Chris Iannetta was charged with two passed balls, one of which led to a run in the two-run sixth when the Giants also capitalized on Chacin botching a rundown by throwing too soon.

Pablo Sandoval hit for the cycle for the Giants, and Ryan Vogelsong, (11-7) who pitched 5 1-3 innings, broke a five-start losing streak and won for the first time since Aug. 14. The victory enabled the Giants to move within seven games of the idle Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West with 12 games remaining for each team.

Sandoval homered, singled, doubled and tripled on his first four at-bats against Chacin for the first cycle of his career. He drew an intentional walk in the eighth with two outs and a runner on third and the Rockies trailing by two runs.

“He hit everything I threw. … It was his night,” Chacin said.

On Sandoval’s sixth-inning triple, right fielder Carlos Gonzalez hit the wall with his right wrist, which he injured earlier in the season. He was replaced in the seventh and is listed as day to day.

Sandoval was 0 for 5 in his career against Chacin (11-12) when stepped to the plate after Carlos Beltran’s two-out single in the first. He drove a 2-1 fastball into the second deck in right field for his 20th home run.

“It was supposed to be in and down and the ball was in the middle, high,” said Chacin (11-12), who pitched 5 2-3 innings. “When you make mistakes with your pitch, that’s what you’re going to get.”

The Giants scored three unearned runs in the second due to miscues by Field and Pacheco. With one out and runners on first and second, Field, who made his major league debut Sunday and was playing in place of injured shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, gloved Cody Ross’ potential double play grounder and threw the ball into right field, allowing a run to score.

“(I) just didn’t have a good grip on it, just rushed it,” Field said, “just kind of sailed a little bit.”

After Jeff Keppinger’s sacrifice fly, Beltran’s grounder went through the legs of Pacheco and Ross scored to make it 5-0.

“Jhoulys was a victim of some of the defense in the second inning,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “But there were four base on balls, which is something that is obviously concerning.”

After a win on June 15, the 23-year-old Chacin was 8-4 with a 2.51 ERA in 14 starts and contending for a spot on the NL All-Star team. In 15 subsequent starts, Chacin has gone 3-8 with a 4.70 ERA, too often plagued by spotty command of his fastball that doesn’t allow him to maximize the effectiveness of his very good secondary pitches.

The Rockies got a run back in the third when Chacin led off with a walk, and Dexter Fowler and Mark Ellis followed with singles. The Rockies had runners on first and second with one out, but Vogelsong got Ty Wigginton to ground into a double play.

Pacheco led off the fourth with a homer, his second in seven starts since being recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

The Giants took advantage of Iannetta’s second passed ball and a gaffe by Chacin to score two runs in the sixth. Vogelson led off with a single and moved up on Iannetta’s passed ball. Ross followed with a run-scoring double. Keppinger bounced a ball back to Chacin, who ran Ross back toward second base but threw too soon, enabling Ross to scamper to third. He scored when Beltran grounded into a double play.

Sandoval then completed his cycle with a triple to right-center. Gonzalez seemed to have a play on the ball but hit the wall with his right wrist. He initially injured the wrist on July 3 when he banged into the center field wall making a catch. He made seven starts over the next 2½ weeks before aggravating the wrist while taking a swing July 21 and ended up on the 15-day disabled list through Aug. 5.

Iannetta, playing less often as the Rockies look at catching prospect Wilin Rosario this month, led off the seventh with his 13th homer. It was Iannetta’s first home run in 70 at-bats since Aug. 6. Field singled and scored on a pinch-hit double by Chris Nelson. With two outs, Eric Young Jr. doubled Nelson home to cut the deficit to 7-5.

The Giants increased their lead when Brandon Belt led off the ninth with a home run against Matt Reynolds. It was the 10th homer off the left-handed Reynolds in 47 1-3 innings this season and the sixth by a left-handed hitter. They are 29 for 94 (.309) against Reynolds this season.

Santiago Casilla, filling for injured closer Brian Wilson, gave up a broken-bat single to Field to start the ninth. But Casilla retired the next three batters, two on strikeouts, to earn his fourth save.

Notes: Sandoval’s cycle was the 10th at Coors Field and fourth by a visiting player. It was the first cycle by a Giant since Fred Lewis on May 13, 2007, also at Coors Field. … Aaron Cook, the Rockies all-time leader with 72 wins, is scheduled to start Colorado’s final home game Wednesday against the Padres. He lost his spot in the rotation to Drew Pomeranz and last pitched Sept. 4. … First baseman Todd Helton didn’t play due to back stiffness that has caused him to miss eight of the past 10 games. … Tulowitzki has missed four of the past six games due to bursitis in his left hip.

PHOENIX (AP) — Daniel Hudson threw seven shutout innings and Ryan Roberts homered to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 5-1 on Monday night for their seventh straight win. Hudson added an RBI single for the Diamondbacks, who have won 10 straight home games and nine of 13 against the Rockies. Arizona has allowed two runs or fewer in each game of the winning streak, tied with Milwaukee for the longest such run this season and one shy of the franchise record set in 2002. Hudson (14-9) pitched out of a second-inning jam, putting runners on second and third with one out. He retired his final 11 batters. The right-hander scattered three hits — all singles — and walked three while striking out eight to earn his second straight win. J.J. Putz came on with the bases loaded in the ninth and got the final two outs for his 34th save in 38 tries. Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Montero and John McDonald all drove in a run during Arizona’s four-run sixth inning against Rockies starter Alex White (1-1). Roberts gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead when he drove White’s third pitch into the stands in left for his third career leadoff home run and Arizona’s sixth this season. White and Hudson traded zeros until the sixth. Aaron Hill singled and White hit Justin Upton in the middle of the back with a fastball. Montero then singled to right, scoring Hill to make it 2-0. Goldschmidt, in the midst of a 2-for-11 skid, doubled off the wall in right to score Upton and advance Montero to third. White intentionally walked Geraldo Parra to set up the double play one out later. But McDonald singled into the hole at shortstop and Hudson looped a single into left to give Arizona a 5-0 lead. The Rockies scratched out a run in the ninth, loading the bases on a single and two hit batsmen before Putz hit Iannetta with a pitch to force home Troy Tulowitzki. White, making his second start since he was acquired by Colorado from Cleveland on July 31 in the deal for Ubaldo Jimenez, allowed five runs and seven hits over six innings. He walked six, matching a season-high, and struck out three. NOTES: Arizona pitchers lead the majors with 51 hits and 30 RBIs. Upton has been hit by pitches 15 times, second in the NL to Washington’s Danny Espinosa. Upton stole second in the first inning to become the third Arizona player to reach 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season twice. Iannetta was shaken up briefly in the sixth when Parra bowled him over with a pop-up slide, but remained in the game. Rockies RHP Aaron Cook will be making his 22nd career start against Arizona on Tuesday. Cook beat the Diamondbacks on July 22 in Chase Field. LHP Wade Miley will look for his second straight win in his third career start for the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. He scattered five hits and four walks with four strikeouts over six scoreless innings against the Nationals on Aug. 25.

DENVER (AP) — Anibal Sanchez tossed eight strong innings to win his first game in more than two months and the Florida Marlins held on to beat the Colorado Rockies 6-5 Tuesday night.

Mike Stanton homered, Bryan Petersen had two triples and Leo Nunez earned his 33rd save for the Marlins, who had to sweat out another ninth-inning rally by Colorado.

A night after he hit a walk-off three-run homer, Jason Giambi hit a pinch-hit two-run homer off Nunez with two outs in the ninth. Ty Wigginton followed with a single before Dexter Fowler popped out to end the game.

Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Seth Smith also homered for the Rockies.

Sanchez (7-6) was sharp in earning his first victory since beating Arizona on June 10 and continued his dominance of the Rockies, who he nearly no-hit in April. He scattered five hits and struck out seven, improving to 3-0 in four starts against Colorado.

The Marlins gave Sanchez an early lead when they jumped on starter Jhoulys Chacin in the first inning. Petersen tripled with one out, Stanton walked and Greg Dobbs singled to make it 1-0. After a strikeout, Mike Cameron singled to left to give the Marlins a 3-0 lead.

Florida loaded the bases on two walks but Chacin got Sanchez to ground out to end the inning.

The Rockies got two back in the bottom of the second on solo homers from Tulowitzki and Seth Smith. It was Tulowitzki’s 25th homer.

The Marlins stretched the lead in the fourth. Light-hitting Jose Lopez led off with a double and scored on Emilio Bonifacio’s single to left. Petersen followed with his second triple to make it 5-2.

That was all for Chacin (9-10), who allowed five runs on eight hits, struck out four and walked three.

Gonzalez led off the bottom of the fourth with his 19th homer to cut the lead to 5-3.

Stanton hit his 28th homer to lead off the seventh.

NOTES: Colorado RHP Juan Nicasio talked publicly for the first time since suffering a fractured vertebra after getting hit by a line drive on Aug. 5. … Marlins INF Omar Infante (fractured right middle finger) will join the team in San Diego on Friday. … The Rockies will send RHP Aaron Cook to the mound in the series finale Wednesday. Cook has lost his last two starts and has received little offensive support of late. The Rockies have scored just three runs in his last four starts. … Ricky Nolasco will pitch for Florida on Wednesday. Nolasco needs just three strikeouts to pass Dontrelle Willis for first in club history in career strikeouts.

The Rockies’ season hasn’t been one big disappointment so much as several little ones.

Jorge De La Rosa’s season-ending elbow injury. Juan Nicasio’s frightening ordeal on the mound. The eternal search for a key hit in the clutch. They’re all on the list.

At the top of it, though, may be the Rockies’ inability to win at Coors Field, a house of horrors for opponents in 2009 and 2010.

“One thing we haven’t done this year is have a fantastic homestand like we’ve been known to have here over the course of the past couple of years,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “If I had one wish . . . it would be for one of our real, real good homestands.”

Lo and behold, the Rockies, for one night anyway, rediscovered

that old LoDo magic in Monday’s 7-4 win over the Marlins. Long story short, they were down 4-3 going into the ninth inning before a little luck and a three-run homer by Jason Giambi carried them home.

“I haven’t seen that this year,” Tracy said. “That was terrific to see. That was a breath of fresh air, no question.”

Giambi’s two-out blast, on a slider from former Yankees teammate Randy Choate, came after Dexter Fowler made the turn toward second base after his looping flyball dropped in center field with two outs. Fowler would have been caught in a rundown to potentially end the game, but Marlins first baseman Gaby Sanchez had to lunge for a throw from third baseman Greg Dobbs, allowing Fowler to advance to second.

Moments later, Carlos Gonzalez doubled home the tying run off Leo Nuñez. And after an intentional walk to Troy Tulowitzki, Giambi unloaded his 11th homer — and his team-leading fourth three-run shot of the season.

“Giambi is the guy you want up there,” said Chris Nelson, who had three hits and reached base four times. “He’s done it time after time for us. It’s like I hit the home run, I was so excited.”

Giambi? He was more tired than excited. He had just come off

the disabled list Friday and hadn’t started at first base in almost a month. But with the Rockies’ charter arriving in Denver at 2 a.m. after a Sunday night game in St. Louis, Todd Helton was given the night off.

“I was exhausted,” said Giambi. “I was thinking to myself, ‘God, I’ve got to get a hit right here or Todd has to come in the game and it’s going to be a 20-inning game.’ I’m just excited to help the ballclub out. We finally pushed through.”

For the longest while, it looked like the Rockies would lose another tight game because of their inability to produce in the clutch. They were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position before the ninth, striking out with runners in scoring position to end the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth innings.

But no. The Rockies are 29-31 at Coors Field, where they’ve had two winning homestands out of nine — none since June 9-19. But they rediscovered their mojo on this night.

“I was thinking, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Giambi said. “It was starting to play out like the frustrating Rox show all year where we were right there in the game and had plenty of chances to tie it or break it open.

“It’s exciting to finally break through and win one.”

Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com

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Looking ahead

TUESDAY: Marlins at Rockies, 6:40 p.m., Root

Yes, he has been erratic at times,

but Jhoulys Chacin (9-9, 3.39 ERA) should be well into double-digit wins by now. He leads the National League with a .207 opponents’ batting average. Pencil him in as the Rockies’ opening-day starter in 2012. Anibal Sanchez (6-6, 4.00) is your basic Rockies killer, with a 2-0, 1.74 career mark against them. He flirted with a no-hitter against them April 22, finishing with a one-hitter. Now for the fine print: He’s 0-2, 7.80 in his last three road starts, has gone a career-worst 10 straight starts without a win and will be making his first-ever appearance at Coors Field.

Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post

Upcoming pitching matchups

Wednesday: Marlins’ Ricky Nolasco (9-8, 3.72 ERA) at Rockies’ Aaron Cook (2-7, 5.43), 6:40 p.m., Root

Thursday: Off

Friday: Dodgers’ Hiroki Kuroda (8-14, 2.88) at Rockies’ Jason Hammel (7-11, 4.97), 6:40 p.m., Root

Saturday: Dodgers’ Ted Lilly (7-13, 4.54) at Rockies’ Esmil Rogers (6-2, 6.00), 2:10 p.m.

CINCINNATI — Carlos Gonzalez got the perfect pitch on a night when home runs were the norm.

Gonzalez hit a down-the-middle fastball for a two-run homer in the eighth inning Monday night, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-7 in a game featuring a long rain delay and nonstop homers.

The Rockies hit four homers, one more than the Reds.

“It’s kind of fun when you go back and forth,” said Seth Smith, who hit the Rockies’ first two homers.

Only if you win.

“Add to frustration?” Reds manager Dusty Baker responded to a question. “The frustration’s already here. We battled back, but the long balls got us tonight. We kept fighting back, but we couldn’t keep it in the ballpark.”

Smith hit a pair of two-run homers for the Rockies, the fifth multihomer game of his career. Gonzalez snapped a 7-all tie with the first homer allowed by left-hander Bill Bray (2-2) this season.

“It was a perfect pitch to drive to center field,” Gonzalez said. “It was a fastball right in the middle of the plate.”

Todd Helton also homered for the Rockies, who matched their season high with four. Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips homered for Cincinnati, which has lost five of seven. The seven homers combined accounted for 15 of the 17 runs.

Matt Belisle (6-4) pitched out of a threat in the seventh and Huston Street worked the ninth for his 29th save in 32 chances.

Bruce got it started with a three-run homer in the first inning off Jason Hammel, his first since July 9.

Smith hit a pair of two-run homers off Reds starter Homer Bailey, putting the Rockies up 5-3. The outfielder’s playing time has been reduced as the season has gone along, leaving him unsure of his role.

“I don’t really know where we are with that,” Smith said. “Hopefully tonight gets me back in there.”

Baker decided not to bring Bailey back following a 1-hour, 34-minute rain delay in the middle of the third inning — the first this season at Great American Ball Park.

Manager Jim Tracy chose to let Hammel return after the long delay, a move that quickly backfired. Bruce singled home a run in the third, and Stubbs hit a two-run homer for a 6-5 lead. Tracy was glad to get two innings out of Hammel after the long delay.

“I’m fairly certain Jason Hammel didn’t pitch the way he wanted to, but for him to go out and give us those two innings put us in position to win the ballgame and use our bullpen the way we wanted to,” Tracy said.

Hammel played catch every 15 minutes and listened to music during the delay.

“I wasn’t coming out of the game,” Hammel said. “I’d only thrown 30 pitches. I didn’t get the results I wanted, but the silver lining is I saved our bullpen for two innings.”

The rain returned from time to time, though not heavily enough to stop the game again.

The homers kept coming, too.

Helton hit a two-run shot in the fifth for a 7-6 lead. The Reds tied it in the seventh on Phillips’ second career pinch-hit homer. The second baseman was out of the lineup for the second straight day with a sore right ankle, but hit the first pitch from Rex Brothers into the upper deck in left field.

Gonzalez’s 16th homer put the Rockies ahead again. Mark Ellis doubled home a run in the ninth.

The Rockies hit four homers, one more than the Reds.

“It’s kind of fun when you go back and forth,” said Seth Smith, who hit the Rockies’ first two homers.

Only if you win.

“Add to frustration?” Reds manager Dusty Baker responded to a question. “The frustration’s already here. We battled back, but the long balls got us tonight. We kept fighting back, but we couldn’t keep it in the ballpark.”

Smith hit a pair of two-run homers for the Rockies, the fifth multihomer game of his career. Gonzalez snapped a 7-all tie with the first homer allowed by left-hander Bill Bray (2-2) this season.

“It was a perfect pitch to drive to center field,” Gonzalez said. “It was a fastball right in the middle of the plate.”

Todd Helton also homered for the Rockies, who matched their season high with four. Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs and Brandon Phillips homered for Cincinnati, which has lost five of seven. The seven homers combined accounted for 15 of the 17 runs.

Matt Belisle (6-4) pitched out of a threat in the seventh and Huston Street worked the ninth for his 29th save in 32 chances.

Bruce got it started with a three-run homer in the first inning off Jason Hammel, his first since July 9.

Smith hit a pair of two-run homers off Reds starter Homer Bailey, putting the Rockies up 5-3. The outfielder’s playing time has been reduced as the season has gone along, leaving him unsure of his role.

“I don’t really know where we are with that,” Smith said. “Hopefully tonight gets me back in there.”

Baker decided not to bring Bailey back following a 1-hour, 34-minute rain delay in the middle of the third inning — the first this season at Great American Ball Park.

Manager Jim Tracy chose to let Hammel return after the long delay, a move that quickly backfired. Bruce singled home a run in the third, and Stubbs hit a two-run homer for a 6-5 lead. Tracy was glad to get two innings out of Hammel after the long delay.

“I’m fairly certain Jason Hammel didn’t pitch the way he wanted to, but for him to go out and give us those two innings put us in position to win the ballgame and use our bullpen the way we wanted to,” Tracy said.

Hammel played catch every 15 minutes and listened to music during the delay.

“I wasn’t coming out of the game,” Hammel said. “I’d only thrown 30 pitches. I didn’t get the results I wanted, but the silver lining is I saved our bullpen for two innings.”

The rain returned from time to time, though not heavily enough to stop the game again.

The homers kept coming, too.

Helton hit a two-run shot in the fifth for a 7-6 lead. The Reds tied it in the seventh on Phillips’ second career pinch-hit homer. The second baseman was out of the lineup for the second straight day with a sore right ankle, but hit the first pitch from Rex Brothers into the upper deck in left field.

Gonzalez’s 16th homer put the Rockies ahead again. Mark Ellis doubled home a run in the ninth.

Notes: Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki had his fifth straight multihit game. … Smith has excelled in Ohio this year. He also had a pair of homers on June 21 in Cleveland. … The Reds had 1B Yonder Alonso take grounders at 3B before the game and plan to use him there at some point. … Colorado’s Esmil Rogers makes his first career start against the Reds on Tuesday. He made two relief appearances against Cincinnati last season, giving up a run in three innings. … Rogers is coming off his first career win at Coors Field, 6-3 over Washington. … LHP Dontrelle Willis tries to get that elusive first win for Cincinnati on Tuesday. He’s made five starts for the Reds and had the bullpen blow save chances in three of them, leaving him 0-1. … Willis homered in Houston in his last start. He has hit safely in all five starts.

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