Giants eager to move on, prepare for Padres

Players and managers are trained to never look too far ahead in the schedule, or to talk about it if they do.

They employ a game-to-game mentality. It’s series to series. Day to day, if you will.

Sure, teams look ahead at pitching matchups and consider various lineup combinations. But they rarely put too much emphasis on one series above another, especially early in the season.

That doesn’t mean everyone has to follow those rules.

Following Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field and Thursday’s off-day, the first-place Giants and the second-place Padres will square off for three games for the second week in a row, this time at Oracle Park. San Francisco lost two of three in San Diego last weekend, and the National League West rivals are 3-3 in their six meetings so far.

• Box score

It should be easy for the Giants to look ahead after a forgettable loss in Denver.

What began as a solid outing for Giants starter Logan Webb ended abruptly.

Webb retired the first 10 batters he faced using a steady mix of fastballs and sinkers. But things fell apart in the fourth when Garrett Hampson singled to left field for Colorado’s first hit of the game. Trevor Story followed with a single, and Ryan McMahon walked on seven pitches to load the bases.

Charlie Blackmon tied the game at 2-2 with a single up the middle. Webb walked the next batter, Matt Adams, on his 30th pitch of the inning. He then walked Alan Trejo with the bases loaded to give Colorado a 3-2 lead, marking the end of his afternoon.

“This is a very difficult place to pitch,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “Mistakes get punished. … We just ran out of pitches in that inning. He was obviously cruising up to that point, and I felt good about taking him deeper into the game. It got away from him a little bit.”

It all unraveled so quickly.

“I was falling behind guys,” Webb said. “I wouldn’t say the stuff was much different.”

The 38-pitch fourth inning ruined what began as an effective outing for Webb. He allowed six runs on three hits in 3 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking three.

What happens to Webb from here is to be determined. He has started and pitched out of the bullpen. Johnny Cueto’s return to the mound, which is set for Sunday, is likely to bump Webb out of the rotation.

“That’s one of the blessings of having an off-day [Thursday],” Kapler said. “It gives us an opportunity to talk through all of the different options that we have. Beyond the rotation that we laid out for San Diego, I don’t really have anything in stone. We’ll dig in tomorrow and make the best decision for the group.”

The teams exchanged zeroes in the first inning. Shortstop Brandon Crawford put the Giants ahead with a two-run home run in the second. Left fielder Darin Ruf’s two-run home run in the seventh cut the Rockies’ lead to 6-4. San Francisco tacked on a run in the ninth, but it was not enough.

The good news is that the Giants enter Friday’s matchup as a well-rested club. In addition to Cueto, Mike Yastrzemski should also be back for the weekend series. Catcher Buster Posey, who was removed from Wednesday’s game because of a tight right hamstring, is also expected to be ready for the series opener.

San Francisco’s recent string of injuries is well-documented.

“I think we will have a healthier group and a refreshed group,” Kapler said. “I look forward to being a stronger unit physically from a health perspective heading into the San Diego series.”