Rockies offense wrecks Pads to avoid horrifying repeat

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The Colorado Rockies took the field on Saturday night against the San Diego Padres with the specter of the worst loss of the season hanging over their heads.

This game looked like it might contain some of the same horrors but the offense ran away with the game, scoring in every inning but two for a 14-8 victory.

It was an off night for starter German Marquez who gave up seven runs in 5.2 IP but the offense was bound and determined to make that an afterthought.

The top of the first looked eerily similar to the way the game ended on Friday night. Just a few pitches in, Greg Garcia hit a groundball inside the line in left that appeared to be destined to end up a double but David Dahl overran the ball and Garcia raced all the way home for the first run of the game.

Eric Hosmer followed with a walk and advanced to third on a Manny Machado single through the right side. Marquez then unleashed a wild pitch to allow Hosmer to score before striking out Wil Myers. But Ian Kinsler added one more run with a  single to give the Padres a 3-0 lead.

Though it wasn’t exactly a bodyblow, the Rockies counterpunched right away, as has become their norm.

Charlie Blackmon led off with a single and he scurried over to third base on a double from Trevor Story. After Nolan Arenado struck out, David Dahl made sure Colorado got at least one back with a groundball out to the left side that plated Blackmon.

Then, the Rockies thew a more substantial offensive punch in the second, taking the lead.

After Ryan McMahon’s leadoff single was erased on a Mark Reynolds GIDP, Tony Wolters drew a walk and Marquez, continuing his fantastic production at the plate, hammered a double into the left-center field, scoring Wolters.

Blackmon tied the game on his second straight single and moved up when the throw went home and Story gave the Rockies the lead with a double to left.

But the Padres came back to tie it in the third on a double from Machado and a two-out single from Kinsler.

Colorado got that one back on a pair of doubles from Mark Reynolds and Blackmon, catching a bad break when the latter hopped over the wall, otherwise Wolters would have also scored after a walk.

But that was no deterrent as Colorado kept it going in the fourth with two more runs on a series of singles from Dahl, Desmond, and McMahon and a sac fly from Reynolds.

Desmond then delivered the big blast with a grand slam in the fifth, scoring Blackmon, Story, and Dahl.

Blackmon’s single to reach gave him four hits in each of his last three games, a new franchise record.

But the Padre weren’t just going to fold, especially not after what transpired the game before.

They came back and knocked Marquez out of the game with a three-spot in the sixth thanks to singles from Josh Naylor, Manuel Margot, and Hosmer. Carlos Estevez came on to get the final out and keep the Rockies ahead by four.

He stayed on for the seventh but ran into some trouble after Desmond dropped a Myers’ liner in center. Kinsler followed up with a double into left center to make it 11-8 and Naylor walked, prompting Bud Black to go to Chad Bettis.

Bettis brought some sanity back to the proceeding with three quick outs to end the frame.

The Rockies took that as their cue to keep the pedal to the metal and did so by scoring another three runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Story walked and Arenado singled in front of a triple into the right field gap for Dahl who trotted home on a Desmond sac fly.

Bettis remained in the game for the eighth and worked around a one-out single to send it to the final frame.

Bryan Shaw put together a rare 1-2-3 inning for the game to end it.