San Diego Padres defeat the 10 consecutive games winning Colorado Rockies
The fixture between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres was a must see on Monday. Both teams had personal pride and ambition to battle for. The home town team from Denver hosted the National League West Division leaders at Coors Field. With 34,089 fans cheering on for their star players as the two Goliaths clashed for a crucial win. The stakes were high and with the playoffs coming in three weeks time, the points and wins were all the more important.
The Rockies were put on the back foot through an ill performing Jeff Francis on the mound. The ace man was struck with a complication in the shoulder as he managed to pitch 3 innings, while conceding 5 hits and 2 runs. Cory Luebke, on the other hand, wasn’t all too impressive for the Padres either. He threw 91 times in 4.2 innings but conceded 10 hits, 4 runs and a walk.
San Diego wanted revenge for the clean sweep that they suffered at the hands of the Rockies earlier this month and today they set a precedent over the hosts in style as the team battled from the very start. It wasn’t going to take long for the score board to tinker and the Padres made their intentions known in the top 1st inning. Aaron Cunningham came in after Jerry Hairston Jr. Grounded out to shortstop. The hitter reached infield single off a hit to the shortstop. On came Miguel Tejada and it didn’t take long for the former Most Valuable Player (MVP) to register his presence as he smashed a 433 feet homer to the left, getting 2 runs on the board. The visitors had done the damage. They were 2-0 up and now it was up to the Colorado side to perform.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to come soon as the Padres piled more pressure. Hairston began the top 5th innings with a single to the left. Cunningham followed with a walk and a throwing error by pitcher, Esmil Rogers, saw the two go up by a base, each. Tejada was the man on the plate again and he made a single to the centre to get both base occupants to a run each. This brought a total of 4 runs to the board and this wasn’t to be the last effort in the innings. Rogers was replaced by Joe Beimel on the mound and when it looked like things could quite down, the damage piled up once more. Tejada moved to the third base from the first when Adrian Gonzalez singled to the centre and Dexter Fowler made an error on a throw. Tejada finally scored the 5th for the team when Ryan Ludwick singled to the centre.
The Rockies replied in the bottom 5th and the effort was worth a genuine fight back. Chris Nelson began the hitting session with a single to the centre. He moved up to second when Fowler singled to the left. Carlos Gonzalez then provided the second baseman with a scoring grace when he singled to the right. Nelson scored and the Rockies signed the match with their first of the night. However this wouldn’t be the end of day as Troy Tulowitzki made his way to the plate. Fowler and Gonzalez were on their bases and they made their run to the dugout in style as Tulowitzki produced a stunning 423 feet homer to the centre to get his team 3 quick runs on the board.
With the Rockies replying with 4 runs, the Padres now lead with a 5-4 score line. Much to the delight of the management, no runs came until the 9th innings. Good pitching saw both teams on the back foot and it was the visiting team that finally put themselves in front further. Oscar Salazar came in the top 9th and he wasn’t supposed to come in. He was replacing M Adams on the plate and he made his sign on the contest with a 430 feet homer to the centre. The match ended with San Diego 6 and Colorado 4.
Rockies lost their 10 games winning streak, while the Padres maintained their lead in the division.
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