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06/16 00:44 CDT Blackmon has 4 hits, Desmond hits slam as Rockies top Padres
Blackmon has 4 hits, Desmond hits slam as Rockies top Padres
By MICHAEL KELLY
Associated Press
DENVER (AP) --- Charlie Blackmon and Ian Desmond continued to scorch Padres
pitchers, and the Rockies needed every bit of it to avoid another big meltdown.
Blackmon finished with four hits for the third straight game, Ian Desmond hit a
grand slam and drove in five runs, and Colorado beat San Diego 14-8 on Saturday
night in another wild Coors Field game.
Blackmon became the first Rockies player to have three straight four-hit games
and continued his torrid June. He is batting .500 in eight games since coming
off the injured list. He is the first player to in the majors to accomplish the
feat since Rafael Furcal did it May 13-15, 2007.
"It's hard to get one or two hits a game and here he is getting four three
nights in a row," Colorado manager Bud Black said. "That's pretty special
stuff."
Desmond is not far off Blackmon's pace. He homered for the second straight game
for the first time since 2016 and is batting .438 with 14 RBIs on his current
nine-game hitting streak.
"With how hot Chuck is, I'm just trying to keep up with him. That's
impossible," Desmond said. "He's swinging the bat real well right now. Loud
noises are contagious."
San Diego third baseman Manny Machado had two hits and scored twice before
being ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke in the fifth inning after a called
third strike. Manager Andy Green and Matt Strahm, Thursday's starter, were
ejected in the sixth.
A couple of close strike calls had Machado upset.
"He didn't like the call on the last pitch, so he voiced it, and Bill felt like
he needed to be ejected," Green said.
Green was ejected when he went to vehemently state his case to Welke in the
bottom of the sixth with reliever Phil Maton on the mound. He continued yelling
at Welke when Strahm, standing at the railing of the dugout, reacted in
disbelief when he was tossed after cheering on Maton.
"Bill was mistaken on who was yelling at who at that point," Green said. "There
were times we were yelling about balls and strikes, but at that point he was
mistaken."
Ian Kinsler had three hits and three RBIs for the Padres, who nearly rallied
from a six-run deficit for the second straight night. They trailed 11-5 in the
ninth Friday and went on to win in 12 innings.
They were behind 11-4 in the fifth Saturday after Desmond's fourth career grand
slam, but made it a game on Eric Hosmer's three-run single in the sixth and an
RBI double by Kinsler in the seventh.
Unlike Friday, however, the Rockies added to their lead on David Dahl's two-run
triple and Desmond's sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Dahl finished with three hits and three RBIs.
"These guys are pretty resilient, mentally," Black said. "Our guys don't blink,
which is great."
German Marquez (7-3) tossed 5 1/3 innings for the Rockies, who scored five runs
off San Diego starter Eric Lauer (5-6).
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: Green said OF Franchy Cordero (right elbow strain) is idle after he
left Wednesday's rehab assignment with a left leg injury. "He's not close to
playing after that. I'm not sure how long he's out," Green said. "He's down."
Rockies: SS Trevor Story was in the lineup after suffering a forehead contusion
in Friday night's loss. A grounder deflected off Story's glove and hit him
above his left eye in the eighth inning and he left that game. He was 3 for 4
with two runs in the win Saturday night.
REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE
Both teams made moves to bolster their bullpens after Friday night's 12-inning
game. San Diego optioned right-hander Miguel Diaz to Triple-A El Paso and
recalled Maton from El Paso.
The Rockies also recalled a reliever, bringing up right-hander Jesus Tinoco
from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioning Brendan Rodgers to Albuquerque. Rodgers
was the club's top prospect when he was recalled and made his major league
debut on May 17.
UP NEXT
Padres LHP Nick Margevicius (2-6, 5.02) will face Colorado RHP Peter Lambert
(2-0, 1.50) in the series finale Sunday in a matchup of rookies.
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