Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
The Padres open their final homestand Monday night, returning from a road trip that felt much worse than it really was.
Overall, the Padres were 3-5 on the trip.  
But two of the five losses were by 16-0 scores. And those two routs fell inside of a five-game losing streak that saw the Padres being out-scored 44-4 while batting .158.
The Padres bookended those five straight losses with three wins against the playoff-bound Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
Now they return to Petco Park to end the home season with three games against the Diamondbacks starting Monday night, then four games against the Rockies - before hitting the road for the final week of the season for three games against the Dodgers in Los Angeles and three in San Francisco.
The Padres actually finished the road trip to Arizona, Minnesota and Colorado on quite a high note.
Down 3-0 after five innings at Coors Field, the Padres scored one in the sixth, two in the eighth, and one in the ninth to win the game - marking the first time this season that the Rockies have lost a home game in which they led by at least three runs in the sixth inning or later.
The Padres bullpen also threw 4 ⅔ scoreless innings - its longest run of scoreless innings in a game at Coors Field since they also worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings May 14, 2011.
The win also snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Rockies this season - as well as the five-game losing streak. Plus, the Padres are now 18-18 in one-run games.    
NOTE WORTHY:   
--1B William Myers stole his 20^th base of the season during the first inning Sunday - giving him a second straight season of at least 25 homers and 20 stolen bases. He is only the second player in Padres history to have multiple seasons with at least 25 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Ryan Klesko achieved the feat in 2001 and 2002.
--C Hector Sanchez hit a bases-loaded, two-RBI single in the eighth inning Sunday to tie the game. Sanchez has hit safely in 16 of his last 19 starts, batting .291 (23-for-79) over that span with 14 RBI.
--RHP Craig Stammen has made 12 straight scoreless appearances in relief since Aug. 14, lowering his earned run average from 3.79 to 3.08. During the run, Stammen has allowed seven hits and two walks with 16 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.
--RHP Kirby Yates' ERA has dropped from 4.37 to 3.71 in a string of eight straight scoreless appearances covering seven innings since Aug. 29. He has allowed one unearned run on four hits and three walks with nine strikeouts over seven innings.
--LHP Jose Torres has allowed only one run in 11 appearances since Aug. 14. He has given up nine hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings to lower his ERA from 5.01 to 4.34.
--The Padres' six-man rotation has developed a couple leaks. RHP Jordan Lyles has allowed 11 runs on 14 hits and three walks over nine innings in his last two starts. And LHP Travis Wood has given up 16 runs (15 earned) on 16 hits - including five homers -- and two walks over 4 1/3 innings in his last two starts.