The San Diego Padres opened up the second half of the 2015 MLB season with a bang against their N.L. West rival Colorado Rockies. The Padres used three home runs to drive in all of four runs in Friday night’s 4-2 win.
Colorado Rockies ace Jorge De La Rosa (6-4) toed the rubber Friday night against the Friars. De La Rosa served up two dingers in the bottom of the first inning. First, Padres right fielder Matt Kemp started the fireworks show with a solo shot to left field to put the Padres up 1-0. Jedd Gyorko continued his success against De La Rosa with a two-run home run to dead center field to put San Diego up 3-0.
De La Rosa exited Friday night’s loss after five innings, surrendering three runs, all by way of the homerun, on five hits and recording five strikeouts. He has now lost his last three games against the Padres.
The middle of the order -- the three, four, and five spots for the Padres -- provided all of the offense. Kemp, Justin Upton, and Gyorko went a combined 4 for 9 with four hits, three of them home runs, and drove in all four runs for the Padres.
The offense would prove to be enough for Padres starting pitcher James Shields (8-3). Shields, looking for his first win in his last seven starts, tossed five strong innings and limited Rockies hitters to two earned runs on five hits. He also recorded five strikeouts.
Center fielder Charlie Blackmon sent a solo home run into the right center field bleachers to provide the Rockies' first run of the night. He finished the night 2 for 5 with an RBI. The Rockies' second run came on a throwing error by Padres catcher Derek Norris that allowed left fielder Brandon Barnes to score.
Missed opportunities was the story line for the Rockies' offense in Friday night’s loss. Unable to execute in critical moments, Rockies hitters were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position (RISP) and left eight men on base.
Two costly base running errors would also hinder the Rockies' offensive output. Center fielder Drew Stubbs was picked off by Shields, and that play ran the Rockies out of an inning and ended a chance to chip away at the early lead. Shields also picked off first baseman Ben Paulsen with the tying run on base. Paulsen was ousted after Shields’ attempted pick off of Troy Tulowitzki at third base. Paulsen was caught in a rundown and finally tagged out by short stop Will Middlebrooks.
On Saturday, the Rockies will send starting pitcher Chad Bettis (5-4) to the hill to face Padres starter Tyson Ross (6-7). The first pitch is slated for 8:40 p.m. EDT. The game can be seen on ROOT Sports and Fox Sports San Diego.