Padres beat Rockies 14-3, to snap three-game skid
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego's Ian Kennedy had one pitch working Friday night. It was more than enough to snap the Padres' three-game losing streak.
The Padres thumped the Colorado Rockies, 14-3, behind Kennedy's bounce-back start.
Kennedy (1-1), who was rocked for eight runs in his previous outing, rebounded with a solid performance. He allowed two runs on four hits in winning for the sixth time 10 decisions against the Rockies.
"He did it with one pitch, his fastball," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He beat some bats with it. I was encouraged by that, by him competing with one pitch. He really didn't have his curveball, slider or changeup."
The difference for the Padres was the outcome. It was the Padres' second victory in nine games as they return to .500. Friday marked the second time they scored more than four runs in a contest over that span.
"I felt like my fastball had good life and I was able to get on top of it," Kennedy said. "It was also nice to have that offense for a little bit of a cushion.
San Diego's Yangervis Solarte had four RBIs and two hits. Derek Norris had three RBIs and three hits. Justin Upton had three hits and two RBIs and Yonder Alonso added three hits and one RBI.
"I'm just doing my job for the team," said Solarte, who shares the club RBI lead at 16.
Colorado's Eddie Butler (2-2) worked four innings and was charged with five runs, four hits and two walks. He struck out three.
"I thought Eddie did a nice job but we made it tough on him," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "I thought he threw the ball real well."
The Padres broke it open with a season-high, eight-run eighth inning which included a key error by two-time Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado. It was the Rockies' fourth error of the game.
Arenado's fourth home run this season brought the Rockies to within 6-2 in the sixth.
Alonso's single in the fifth scored Upton for a 6-1 edge, after Upton singled and went to second on Norris' single.
Drew Stubbs' solo homer in the fifth, his first hit of the year, cut the Rockies' deficit to 5-1.
Butler made two mistakes to open the fourth, then his teammates added two more in the four-run inning.
After Upton was hit by a pitch, Butler drew a two-base error when trying to pick Upton off first. Norris singled in Upton for a 2-0 advantage.
"I got a little frustrated and it lit a fire under me," Butler said.
Alonso followed with a double, then Troy Tulowitzki and DJ LeMahieu booted ground balls for errors, with Norris scoring. Alonso came home,
as did Will Middlebrooks, on Solarte's two-out single for a 5-0 cushion.
Will Myers opened the first with a walk and advanced to third when running on Matt Kemp's single. Kemp was retired on Upton's grounder, but Myers scored for a 1-0 lead.
DROUGHT BUSTER
Rockies centerfielder Drew Stubbs hit a solo homer in the fifth inning and it came with a sigh of relief. It was Stubbs' first hit of the season, snapping a 0 for 21 skid which included 13 strikeouts.
PACIFIC SOCK EXCHANGE
Petco Park has been cozy for Padres' rivals this homestead as they've hit 14 home runs in seven games. Only the Milwaukee Brewers (32) and Toronto Blue Jays (32) have allowed more homers this season than the Padres (30).
TRAINERS ROOM
Rockies: OF Charlie Blackmon was out of the lineup because manager Walt Weiss said Blackmon was "under the weather" but he was available to pinch-hit.
Padres: RHP Shawn Kelley, who is on the DL with a strained left calf, was scheduled to make a rehabilitation start for Single A Lake Elsinore.
UP NEXT
Rockies: LHP Jorge De La Rosa (0-1, 11.57) will make his third start of the year and second against the Padres. On April 20, he allowed a career-high tying nine runs in two innings in a 14-3 loss to San Diego.
Padres: RHP Brandon Morrow (1-0, 2.67) is trying to win his second straight game after beating the Dodgers on April 26. Morrow has worked six innings in each of his four starts this season, the first time he's done that since 2012.
