The 31-year-old has pitched well in June, going 2-1 in four starts, allowing just seven earned runs in 20 innings.

EAST RUTHERFORD Trace McSorley Jersey , N.J. (AP)Pat Shurmur’s first minicamp with the New York Giants nearly had an ugly ending when high-priced left tackle Nate Solder tweaked a knee after being bumped during a helmet-swinging scuffle between defensive tackle Damon Harrison and rookie guard Will Hernandez.Solder, who signed a four-year, $62 million contract in March, walked away from the fight on the third and final day of the minicamp on Thursday and sat on the grass after Harrison and Hernandez were separated.Head trainer Ronnie Barnes examined Solder, and the former Patriot got up and tested the knee that seemed to be bumped by Hernandez during the altercation with Harrison.Solder and Shurmur later said it was OK, but it could have been a lot worse. Coming off a 3-13 season, the Giants can’t afford to have their highest-priced free agent hurt in a minicamp where players are practicing in shorts and no pads.Both players were taken out of the drills, and Shurmur talked to the 29-year-old Harrison, who swung Hernandez’s helmet at the rookie after a running play.”It has been very competitive the whole camp,” Shurmur said. ”There are certain things we certainly can’t do. We got it settled down. When scuffles break like that, in that situation Kyler Murray Jersey , we just take them out of the practice and let them cool off.”Shurmur said helmet swinging bothered him. Hernandez wasn’t shy, either. He threw punches at Harrison.”Snacks is a very competitive guy and Will Hernandez is very competitive out there,” Shurmur said. ”They just kind of butted heads.”Solder downplayed the scuffle, saying he was fine.Neither Harrison nor Hernandez was available after practice to talk about the incident.”We just have to focus on getting better, we have to play better football, we have to be a strong unit on the offensive line, and we have to do what we can control,” said Solder, who protected the blind side of Patriots‘ quarterback Tom Brady for seven years before signing with New York. ”Those things are battles, they happen, emotions rise http://www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-byron-murphy-jersey , and you work through it and move on.”Giants players will be on their own until the end of July, when training camp opens.”We’ve talked to them about all the work that we’ve done to this point, and with five weeks to go, it’s not time off, it’s time away,” Shurmur said. ”So, to continue with their preparation, we’re always talking to them about being a good citizen, and we say New York Giants pride for a reason. So, be very smart. Be good husbands, good fathers and be good citizens.”Shurmur said that rookies Andy Isabella Jersey , quarterbacks and selected veterans will report to training camp on July 22. The rest of the team will arrive later in that week.Shurmur, who replaced the fired Ben McAdoo, also re-confirmed that the Giants will practice with the Lions for a couple of days before their preseason game on Aug. 17 in Detroit.NOTES: The biggest surprise of training camp might have been third-round draft pick B.J. Hill getting most of the first-team reps on the defensive line with Harrison and second-year tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. … DT RJ McIntosh, the fifth-round draft pick, was at minicamp but did not take part in practices. Shurmur said he will need an undisclosed medical procedure. … Backup quarterbacks Davis Webb and rookie Kyle Lauletta played well in short-yardage and red-zone drills.—
SAN FRANCISCO — The Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants begin a stretch of six meetings in nine days Tuesday night when they hook up in the opener of a three-game series at AT&T Park.

The National League West contenders also will square off three times in Denver next week.

The Rockies (38-40) and Giants (40-39) begin the sequence separated by just one game in the loss column. Each would like to head north in the National League West standings while sending the other south at the same time.

“We obviously need to make a run before the All-Star break,” Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez proclaimed after Sunday’s 8-5 home loss to Miami. “We need to finish the first half strong, just the way we started the season. We have a good group, but it just seems like we are going through a rough time.”

That surely can be said of Colorado’s starting pitcher in the series opener, right-hander Chad Bettis (5-1, 5.23 ERA). He has allowed 28 earned runs in 26 innings in his last five starts, yet has somehow managed to go 1-0 during that span.

He had a similar dynamic earlier this season in a matchup with the Giants. He did not pitch particularly well Brian Burns Jersey , allowing five runs and 10 hits in six innings, but the Rockies found a way to pull out a 6-5 win.

Bettis has faced the Giants 13 times in his career, nine times as a starter. He has gone 3-4 with a 4.79 ERA in those games.

The 29-year-old right-hander is 1-1 with a 4.71 ERA in five career games, including three starts, in San Francisco.

He has been stung by the long ball this season, allowing 14 home runs in his 15 starts, and has given up homers in his career to six current Giants, including outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, who had a home run and three doubles in his last three games against the San Diego Padres.

Hernandez had a nice week — eight hits, including four doubles and two home runs — but nothing like the one experienced by Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, who smacked five homers among 11 hits last week.

Arenado was rewarded with National League Player of the Week honors.

He has a homer in nine career plate appearances against left-hander Derek Holland (5-7 http://www.panthersfootballauthentic.com/greg-little-jersey-authentic , 4.48), who will open the series for the Giants. Arenado also has a double, a single and two walks in those nine head-to-heads, giving him a .556 on-base percentage in the matchup.

Holland has struggled in general in his career against the Rockies, going 1-2 with an 8.40 ERA in three starts.

Two of those three starts came earlier this season, including the lone win in his most recent meeting, when he allowed four runs in five innings in a 7-4 victory last month.

He had earlier given up four runs in six innings in a 6-1 loss.

The 31-year-old has pitched well in June, going 2-1 in four starts, allowing just seven earned runs in 20 innings.

The Giants enter the series having won five of six. The Rockies are coming off a 4-3 homestand during which they suffered consecutive weekend losses to the Marlins.