Originally posted on 04/24/2015:

You can't ignore Chris Heston's first three starts.

21 IP in 3 starts (actually 20 2/3)
16 K's
0.87 WH/IP (15 H 5 BB)
0.97 ERA

He faced the Rockies 11 days ago going 7 innings, 1 earned run, 7 hits in a well pitched 2-0 loss in SF.
He beat Arizona and neutralized Goldschmidt twice in 3 weeks for his 2 wins. (He gave up a homer to Peralta last start for his only long ball yielded this season, I know because I had Peralta in a daily that night)

Two items that need adressing.

1) Heston has faced the Rox like I said 11 days ago, so that lineup has seen him and knows what he has arsenal wise but I expect pitching coach Raghetti and Buster Posey to come out with a different approach tonight.

2) Game is in Coors, rarified air and balls travelling an all that, but he's demonstrated he can pitch at this level, if you can't hit him, you can't hit him no matter where the game is, still you can't ignore the Coors factor.

Now, having made those two points, Rockies start Eddie Butler who seems to walk the park.
11 walks in 16 innings (10 K's) is a brutal ratio. Don't be fooled by the 2.25 ERA, that's due to a ridiculous high strand rate, or in other words, he been putting runners on, and getting out of jams.
Once that strand rate neutralizes, that ERA explodes.

Another thing, Butler has not cleared the sixth inning in each of the three starts, throwing 85 or more pitches each time, so more than likely we'll see the Rockie bull pen early, and that unit is not exactly lockdown.

I'm looking for Posey and Pagan (who in the 3 hole could do damage) and scrappy Joe Panik to clog the bases.
I see Justin Maxwell makes a start tonight, would not shock me if Mad Max takes the kid over the wall also, don't sleep on his power.

It just makes too much sense not to play SF tonight, at a 11-10 pick road warrior.

SF goes for 3*