Friars flash power again to win 4th straight
SAN DIEGO -- Clint Barmes broke a tie with a two-run home run in the seventh inning Saturday as the Padres defeated the Rockies, 5-4, at Petco Park.
Matt Kemp had a two-run double in the sixth inning for the Padres (43-49), who have won their last four games.
Video: COL@SD: Murphy on the Padres' 5-4 victory
Troy Tulowitzki cut the lead to 5-4 with a solo home run in the eighth inning, his 11th of the season.
Barmes came to the plate with one on and no outs and initially thought he would be bunting. He's glad he didn't have to.
"Honestly, I was walking to the plate expecting to get [the] bunt sign," Barmes said. "Fortunately I was able to get something off-speed and something that was elevated."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Arm and bat: It was quite a sequence from Padres rookie catcher Austin Hedges, as he used his arm and bat to help his team. First, he threw out Brandon Barnes trying to steal second base in the top of the third inning and he hit a home run in the bottom of the frame, his second of the season.
Video: COL@SD: Hedges opens scoring with solo homer in 3rd
"I don't want him to start thinking he's a hitter first," said Padres interim manager Pat Murphy of Hedges, regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in baseball.
Video: COL@SD: Hedges throws out Barnes attempting to steal
Feeling rundown: The Rockies missed a chance for a big inning in the fourth when a rundown on the bases -- resulting in a 9-2-6-5-3 out -- let Padres starting pitcher Tyson Ross off the hook. The Rockies would get one run in the inning, but the damage could have been greater.
Video: COL@SD: Padres retire Blackmon in rundown in 4th
Second-half swing: Kemp had a home run on Friday against the Rockies and then on Saturday he broke a tie with a two-run double in the sixth inning off Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis. A year ago, Kemp hit .309/.365/.606 with 17 home runs and 54 RBIs in the second half for the Dodgers.
Video: COL@SD: Kemp breaks tie with two-run double in 6th
Big bats for Barnes: Barnes was solid at the plate, going 3-for-3 for his 12th multi-hit game this season. His RBI triple in the seventh inning brought in Ben Paulsen and inched Colorado closer to make it a 3-2 game.
Video: COL@SD: Barnes triples in Paulsen in the 7th
QUOTABLE
"He's always tough. It's always going to be tough to score off him. He's got the slider that disappears, so you know you can't waste any opportunity when they show up. I feel like we battled pretty well against him for the stuff he was featuring tonight." -- Rockies manager Walt Weiss on Ross' performance
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Ross didn't allow a home run -- again. That's 15 consecutive starts where he's hasn't yielded a home run. The last long ball he allowed was to Evan Gattis of the Astros on April 28. His streak is the longest this season in the big league by a starting pitcher.
Video: COL@SD: Ross strikes out six in 6 2/3 quality innings
WHAT'S NEXT
Rockies: Colorado will start Eddie Butler in the final game of the series at 2:10 p.m. MT against the Padres, marking his first start since being sent down to Triple-A Albuquerque on June 9. Before being sent down, the right-hander was 3-6 with a 4.80 ERA in 11 starts.
Padres: Andrew Cashner (3-10, 4.10 ERA) gets the start in the series finale at 1:10 p.m. PT on Sunday. Cashner, after some bad luck early and a rough June, has a 3.50 ERA over his last four starts and his stuff has generally been better across the board.
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