By Morris Phillips

Now that the pressure’s off, the Giants are swing happy once again.

Definitely a statement made tongue in cheek, but the Giants are done battling the Dodgers for now, and they looked loose and lethal in whipping the Rockies 10-5 on Labor Day afternoon in Denver.

The final 25 games of what’s becoming a signature season in the century plus history of the franchise promise to be jam-packed with tense moments. Those moments just didn’t surface on Monday: Kevin Gausman pitched the Giants into a comfortable place, and the team’s home run bats took it from there. A short turnaround from a late afternoon start in San Francisco to an early afternoon start two time zones away didn’t take away from the effort either.

“To be honest, I was expecting everyone to be a little sluggish,” starter Kevin Gausman said. “We expended a lot of energy that last series just mentally. And being locked in every single pitch and to come out, from the get-go, they were locked in. Quality at-bats and really making Freeland work.”

“The whole crew has a very, very quick turnaround and tired eyes this morning,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “These guys got ramped up well, got prepared and ready to hit, obviously, from the first pitch.”

Darin Ruf starred as the unlikely catalyst, thrust into the leadoff role in the absence of injured Austin Slater, who has concussion symptoms. Ruf homered in the first, and tripled in the four-run fifth, as the Giants jumped to a 8-1 lead and chased the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland, who beat the Giants earlier at Oracle Park and had been on a roll since the All-Star break. Freeland was looking to build on his 5-1 record against the Giants at Coors Field in his 10th home start against the visitors, but he was in trouble from the start.

Ruf and Buster Posey hit homers in the first inning, and Thairo Estrada homered in the fourth and the fifth innings. Ruf’s two-run triple capped the rally in the fifth. That blast came off Ben Bowden, who was summoned to replace Freeland.

Gausman turned in his most impressive and lengthiest outing since the All-Star break, pitching seven innings, allowing five hits and three runs. The Centennial, Colorado native may have energized by participating in the first starting pitcher matchup between Denver-area natives (Freeland is from Denver), but after some short outings in early July, he’s been trending back toward his season start and he picked up his 13th win for his efforts.

“I almost talked to Kap before the game, ‘Let me go 130 pitches, whatever it takes. These guys need a day off.,'” Gausman said. “I had some quick innings, some long (at-bats) and then followed by a one-pitch out.”

Despite their ragged effort, the Rockies stand as one of the Giants most formidable obstacles down the stretch. The Giants finish a 16 games in 16 days stretch here this week, and return on September 24 for three more meetings. While the Rockies have been dreadful on the road, winning just 18 of 68 games thus far, they’re 45-25 at home, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde peformance that would be the biggest differential in home and road performance in the history of the Major Leagues if the percentages persist.

Freeland loomed as a big portion of the challenge facing Giants, as did the short turnaround, but at least on Monday, the Giants were up to the task.

On Tuesday, the Giants return to normalcy so to speak with an announced starter in Logan Webb, who may also give the bullpen a breather if he can continue his lengthy success now spanning more than half the season. The Rockies have announced Chi Chi Rodriguez as their starter.