 allowed a home run in an NL-record 16th straight game when Wil Myers connected leading off the fifth, but otherwise tamed the Padres, who have lost three straight for the first time this season.Rookie Garrett Hampson hit his first career-homer and Raimel Tapia had a two-run triple for the Rockies, whose bats have come to life on the final three games of a swing through San Francisco and San Diego. Prior to that, they had lost eight straight games.Their eight runs were a season high.Arenado hit his first homer of the season in Sunday's 4-0 win at San Francisco and went deep again in Monday night's 5-2 win against the Padres.His shot to straightaway center field off rookie left-hander Nick Margevicius (1-2) with one out provided the Rockies with their first first-inning runs this season. Their streak of 17 straight games without a run in the first inning was longest to begin a season in franchise history.Charlie Blackmon hit an RBI double in the second and Tapia a two-run triple in the third for a 5-0 lead.Trevor Story had a career-high three stolen bases, including stealing second and then executing a double steal with Mark Reynolds ahead of Tapia's triple.Hampson hit a one-out homer to left in the seventh off Adam Warren. A fan threw the ball back onto the field and left fielder Wil Myers tossed it into foul territory, where a ball girl handed it to a fan despite Padres third baseman Manny Machado trying to get her attention. The Rockies were able to retrieve the ball for Hampson.Hampson made his big league debut last year and was on his first opening day roster this year.Gray improved to 9-3 lifetime against San Diego by holding the Padres to one run and three hits while striking out five and walking three.Gray's only big mistake was allowing Myers' homer to left leading off the fifth, his fifth.Margevicius allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings, struck out seven and walked one.UP NEXTRockies: Colorado returns home to open a four-game series against Philadelphia on Thursday night, with LHP Kyle Freeland (1-3, 5.40) scheduled to make the start.Padres: Rookie RHP Chris Paddack (0-0, 1.29) seeks his first win Thursday night in the opener of a four-game home series against the Cincinnati Reds, who counter with RHP Tanner Roark (0-0, 4.30).---For more baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/apf-Baseball and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rockies look to sweep two-game set at San Diego A two-game series in the middle of April usually doesn't carry much significance in a 162-game baseball season.However, the Rockies' two games against the San Diego Padres this week carry some importance for both teams, particularly after Colorado's 5-2 win Monday night.Following two straight trips to the playoffs, Colorado was 3-12 before winning its past two games.And while the Padres just completed a 7-3 road trip, they are only 4-4 after their first eight home games. San Diego is one game into an eight-game homestand that sees the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners follow the Rockies into Petco Park.If the Padres are to be in contention for a playoff berth come August or September, they best start winning at home and beating the teams and defeating their National League West rivals."Colorado was a playoff team the past two years," Padres manager Andy Green said before Monday night's series opener. "It's not who you play, it's when you play them. They haven't clicked offensively. But we understand the team they have. They still have Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Trevor Story, a real lineup that if you make mistakes will bite you."They're the team that's been to the playoffs. They're the team that we need to knock off consistently if we want to end up in that spot." Arenado and Ian Desmond homered Monday for the Rockies, who got 6 2/3 strong innings from Antonio Senzatela, who won his season debut as he returned from a heel ailment.The Padres will try again Tuesday night with rookie left-hander Nick Margevicius (1-1, 1.69 ERA) taking the mound against Colorado right-hander Jon Gray (0-3, 4.19).Margevicius, 22, will be making his fourth major league start after having never pitched a regular-season game above the Class-A level coming into the 2019 season. This will also be his first start against the Rockies.The 6-foot-4, 224-pound Margevicius was a seventh-round pick in the 2017 draft out of Rider University. In his first three starts for San Diego, he has allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk with 12 strikeouts in 16 innings.He has surrendered exactly one run in each of his first three starts, becoming only the fourth Padre to accomplish the feat.Gray, 27, is seeking his first win since last Sept. 24 and his first road win since defeating the Padres last Sept. 1 at Petco Park.The Padres could be the perfect opponent for Gray as he looks to snap out of his early-season slump. He is 7-1 against the Padres since Sept. 17, 2016, with a 2.56 ERA in nine starts, and he has a career 8-3 record against San Diego with a 2.69 ERA, a 0.985 WHIP and a .224 opponents' batting average in 15 starts.Gray owns a 4-2 record at Petco Park with a 2.63 ERA, a 1.073 WHIP and a .229 opponents' batting average in seven starts. He has won each of his past three starts in San Diego while compiling a 1.42 ERA."I've always liked pitching in San Diego," Gray said last Sept. 1 after holding the Padres to two runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings. "I like the mound." Four of Gray's 13 games with double-digit strikeout counts have come against the Padres.--Field Level Media
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