Blackmon's big night puts away the Padres

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DENVER – Before the Colorado Rockies series opener with the San Diego Padres at Coors Field on Thursday night, BSN Denver asked manager Bud Black about the concept of the counterpunch; the importance of answering a scoring inning by the opponent with one of your own right away.

“I love the counterpunch,” he said. “It can be huge.”

As if the lineup was listening in, they showed off this exact ability, coming up with big key hits when they needed them the most en route to a 9-6 win.

The offense put up 13 hits and did not have a single 1-2-3 inning.

The standout was Charlie Blackmon who had four hits, including two home runs, and four RBI.

Starter Jon Gray had yet another in-between outing. He ran into some bad luck and was tagged for four runs on nine hits but he also didn’t walk a batter and struck out 10 over his six innings of work.

Within the first four pitches of the game, the Padres had taken the lead. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off by ripping a double down the left-field line to knock Gray back on his heels right away.

The Rockies righty jammed the next batter, Eric Hosmer, with a breaking ball but a flare to shallow left landed in no man’s land for San Diego’s second straight double, scoring a run.

He came around to plate another one when Manny Machado reached out and poked a slider on the ground into right field for an RBI single.

Machado was thrown out trying to go for second on the play which may have helped Gray settle in. After another jam-shot single from Hunter Renfroe, he punched out a pair to end the inning.

Which meant it was time for a counterpunch.

Colorado wasted no time in answering the first inning barrage with one of their own. Charlie Blackmon singled away from the shift on the left side and was replaced on the bases on a force out by Trevor Story.

David Dahl followed with a hard sinking liner to second that second baseman Greg Garcia made a fantastic stop on a short hop but bobbled the exchange and everybody was safe.

When Nolan Arenado struck out, it looked like the chance might slip away but Daniel Murphy picked him up by lifting a soft single into shallow left. Story hustled home to get the Rockies on the board.

But Ian Desmond was not content with just making sure the opportunity wasn’t lost, he was determined to make the most of it and scorched a rocket into the right-center field gap, scoring Dahl and Murphy to put the Rockies ahead 3-2.

They added two more in the second on Story’s 16th home run of the season on a majestic line drive the opposite way.

The Padres got one back in the fourth but Gray was almost able to wriggle out of it. Wil Myers opened things with a double. He has the second-highest career OPS for any active visitor at Coors Field. Gray got Austin Allen to pop out but Strahm got his second hit of the game with a single to center. Desmond made a great deke to make Myers think he had a chance to catch it, keeping him from racing home.

That almost took a run off the board when Greg Garcia hit a grounder right at Arenado in the next at-bat. There was a play to be had at the plate but Arenado elected to attempt the double play and threw a bit wild toward second. Ryan McMahon came off the bag to retrieve it and was able to get to the bag in time for one, but the chance at two was lost and the run scored.

Once again, though, Colorado hit back.

Blackmon launched his 13th home run of the season high into the night and over the wall in center to give the Rockies a three-run lead.

Machado got Gray for his 11th round-tripper in the top of the fifth on a liner to left, shrinking the lead to 6-4.

The Rockies got two aboard in the fifth with two outs but Black decided to stay with Gray who struck out in the two-run game.

It was a gamble with Myers leading off the next inning but the Gray Wolf struck him out on a perfectly located fastball high and tight then worked around a two-out, two-base error from Murphy to keep the score where it was.

Blackmon rewarded that effort with his second home run of the game to give the Rockies a 7-4 lead.

The Padres got that one back on a mis-hit baseball for Tatis Jr. away from the outfield shift, going down as a triple. He trotted home on a grounder from Hosmer but reliever Jairo Diaz made sure that was they got.

Colorado’s final counterpunch was a knockout blow from Blackmon who completed a two-out rally started by a single from Wolters and kept alive by a walk from a pinch-hitting Raimel Tapia.

After Wolters reached for the fourth time in the game, Blackmon recorded his fourth hit by pulling a triple into the right-field corner, scoring both runners to make it a 9-5 game.

Wade Davis came on in the ninth and got a pair of quick outs before giving up an opposite-field home run to Machado. A nice play from Story at short ended the game at 9-6.

The Rockies improve to 36-32 and have gone 12-2 over their last 14 home games.