Opener in Denver rained out; twin bill Tues.

The Giants’ series opener against the Rockies on Monday was postponed due to inclement weather in Denver and will now be played as part of a traditional doubleheader on Tuesday at Coors Field.

Game 1 is scheduled to begin at 2:40 p.m. PT, with Game 2 beginning no later than 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Both games of the doubleheader will be seven-inning regulation games.

Manager Gabe Kapler said right-hander Aaron Sanchez and left-hander Alex Wood are scheduled to pitch on Tuesday, but the Giants have not yet determined the order in which they’ll start. Sanchez was originally lined up to start on Monday, opposite Colorado right-hander Germán Márquez.

The seven-inning doubleheader format was not kind to the Giants in 2020, when they went 1-5 in three twin bills and were outscored by a 28-11 margin. Two of those doubleheaders came against the Padres and one was versus the Dodgers.

Still, Kapler said he believes the seven-inning games will make it easier for him to manage his pitching staff at the notoriously hitter-friendly Coors Field.

"I was just talking to [third-base coach] Ron Wotus about this, who is as traditional as they come," Kapler said. "We both kind of smiled and said it's just really nice that we're going to try to cover 14 innings instead of two nine-inning games tomorrow. A lot of that has to do with some of the pitching.

"You don't want to blow through your entire bullpen over the course of two games, and at least with seven innings, you have the possibility that one or even both of your starters gives you five or six innings and you just end up covering a couple of extra innings with your bullpen, and that reflects what a normal game might look like."

Despite the rainy weather in Denver, Kapler said many players were still able to get some work in before leaving the ballpark on Monday.

“The cage was active today,” Kapler said. “[Pitching coach Andrew Bailey] and I were just meeting, and he's taking some pitchers out on the field to play catch. We don't have any limitations on our ability to train and work today. That said, I don't know that we're going to want to do all that much. It's a group that could use a blow. 162 games is a lot, so we may try to take as much advantage of a little bit of recovery time for our guys who have been playing a lot and a few of our injured players as well.”

Injury updates
• Infielder Tommy La Stella (left hamstring strain) underwent an MRI exam on Monday and is likely to be placed on the injured list before Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Rockies. La Stella departed Sunday’s 7-1 win over the Padres in the fifth inning after tweaking his hamstring while scoring from third on a groundout by Wilmer Flores.

“He is feeling a good amount of tightness today moving around,” Kapler said. “I would expect it to be an injured list situation. I can't say that definitively yet, but that's definitely where it's trending.”

If La Stella joins Mike Yastrzemski and Donovan Solano on the IL as expected, infielder Jason Vosler will be a strong candidate to replace the 32-year-old veteran on the Giants’ roster on Tuesday. A left-handed hitter, Vosler can play third, second and first base and went 2-for-8 with a steal in his first four games with the Giants this year.

Vosler is in Denver as part of the Giants’ taxi squad, which also includes shortstop Thairo Estrada, left-hander Conner Menez, right-hander Kervin Castro and catcher Joey Bart. San Francisco will have the opportunity to add a 27th man to its roster for Game 2 of the doubleheader as well.

• Right-handed reliever Reyes Moronta will undergo an MRI exam after seeing team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki on Monday. Moronta landed on the IL with a right flexor strain last month, but he was on the verge of rejoining the Giants’ bullpen before experiencing tightness in his forearm before a bullpen session on Saturday.

• Brandon Crawford has missed two games after being drilled on the left calf by a pitch from Yu Darvish on Friday, but Kapler said the 34-year-old shortstop is feeling better and could be ready to start one of Tuesday’s games.