Bill Swift is sharp, but sore

SAN FRANCISCO – The mound felt comfortable, the Candlestick Park wind was at his back and the faces in the home team’s dugout were familiar.

Bill Swift was back on the field that had been his home for three successful seasons, and his change of uniform did little to change his luck.

Swift, making his first appearance against his former club, held the Giants to two hits in seven shutout innings as the Colorado Rockies beat San Francisco 5-1 Tuesday and sent the Giants to their fifth consecutive loss.

“I felt like I was back at home and I could throw the ball where I wanted to,” Swift said. “It felt real nice out there, it felt real good out on that mound. That’s the most my ball’s been sinking this year.”

Swift (3-2) walked three, including Barry Bonds twice, and got 11 outs on grounders. He helped himself by picking off Darren Lewis at first after a leadoff walk in the sixth.

Swift, who was 39-19 with the Giants from 1992-94 and led the NL with a 2.08 ERA in 1992, struck out six and did not allow a runner past second.

“He was spectacular, that’s the best he threw all year. He was in command all day,” Rockies manager Don Baylor said. “I kind of enjoyed sitting back there and watching the game today.”

Swift came out after throwing just 77 pitches, telling Baylor his shoulder was a little sore. But Swift said it was just a precautionary measure, especially since the Rockies had a 5-0 lead by that time.

Swift improved his career mark at Candlestick Park to 21-9 with a 2.26 ERA.

“He kept it down, kept it away,” Giants manager Dusty Baker said. “He didn’t throw many pitches, and maybe he feels comfortable here at Candlestick.”

Dante Bichette had a pair of RBI singles for the Rockies. Andres Galarraga added an RBI single, Joe Girardi had a run-scoring double and Vinny Castilla had a sacrifice fly.

Galarraga, who hit homers in his final three at-bats on Sunday at San Diego, walked in the first and flied out twice before his RBI single in the eighth.

Jose Bautista (2-4), who has split time between the starting rotation and the San Francisco bullpen this season, allowed five runs on seven hits in 7 1-3 innings.

The Giants, swept in a four-game weekend series in Los Angeles, are hitting .149 in their last three games.

“It’s just a breakdown in a lot of different areas. One day, it’s the starter. The next day, it’s the bullpen. The next day, it’s the htters. Next day, it’s the defense,” Baker said. “Like I said, we’re in a bad streak right now.”