Brendan Rodgers, Charlie Blackmon homer to help Rockies beat Padres 7-3
DENVER (AP) — Brendan Rodgers and Charlie Blackmon homered, Cal Quantrill pitched effectively for five innings and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 on Friday night.
Jordan Beck added three hits, including an RBI single, for the Rockies, who cooled off the surging Padres. Before Friday, the Padres had won 19 of their 23 games dating back to the All-Star break, including 10 of their last 11.
Ha-Seong Kim and Xander Bogaerts homered for the Padres. Jackson Merrill had a pair of hits, including a one-out triple in the sixth, but the Rockies stranded him by turning the third of their four double plays in the game.
Quantrill (8-8) allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five and walking two. Rockies relievers Angel Chivilli, Lucas Gilbreath, Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik combined to pitch four scoreless innings.
For San Diego, Matt Waldron (7-10) allowed seven runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Waldron came in having won both of his previous starts against Colorado this season but found himself in trouble from the start. He walked Charlie Blackmon to start the first and Ezequiel Tovar followed with a single. One out later, Ryan McMahon singled to drive in Colorado’s first run and Rodgers then drove a 77-mph knuckleball from Waldron deep into the left field bleachers for his 10th homer of the season to give the Rockies a 4-0 lead.
Kim connected for his 11th homer, a two-run drive off Quantrill in the top of the second, before Blackmon answered with a two-run shot off Waldron in the bottom of the third to rebuild the Colorado advantage to 6-2.
The Padres added a run on Bogaerts’ home run to start the fourth and Beck’s third single of the night scored Michael Toglia, aboard with a double, in the sixth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: OF Fernando Tatis Jr., sidelined since mid-June with a right femoral stress reaction, is steadily improving but there’s still no timetable for his return. “He’s definitely getting there,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We still want some healing to take place before we ramp up. Once he ramps up, he’ll be getting ready pretty quickly, I would imagine.”
ROSTER SHAKEUP
In the latest sign the Rockies remain committed to a youth movement, the team released veteran catcher Elías Díaz and selected the contract of rookie catcher Drew Romo from Triple-A Albuquerque. Díaz, 33, was the Rockies' regular catcher for most of the last five years and went to the All-Star game last season, earning the MVP award after homering to win the game for the NL. Romo was the 35th overall selection in the 2020 draft and ranked the No. 9 prospect in baseball by MLB.com.
UP NEXT
Padres RHP Dylan Cease (11-9, 3.41 ERA) will be seeking a fourth straight winning decision when he takes the mound Saturday night against Colorado, which is slated to counter with Kyle Freeland (3-4, 5.75 ERA).
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