San Diego Padres reclaim division lead
The San Diego Padres once again find themselves in first place in the National League West division after defeating the Colorado Rockies 6-4 on Monday.
The Padres were led by Miguel Tejada who had three hits including a two-run homer and a two-run single. Tejada also scored the winning run.
Aaron Cunningham also had a big game for the Padres, as he scored twice and had two hits. The Padres have now found some life by wining five of their last eight games following a season-long losing streak of 10 games. With the win, the Padres now hold a half-game lead over the San Francisco Giants who did not play on Monday.
With the loss, the Rockies, who had won 10 games in a row, now sit 2.5 games off the pace and finish just shy of a franchise record for most wins in a row.
Jeff Francis, who was on the disabled list due to shoulder pain, was making his first start for the Rockies since August 11, and dropped his record to 4-5. He allowed five hits, including the home run to Tejada in three innings, but was working on a pitch count.
Tejada opened the scoring in the first inning hitting his 298th career home run off a full count and brought in Cunningham after he reached on a single to third. After both teams failed to score over the next three innings, the Padres broke through on the fifth. With two outs already recorded, the Padres were able to bring in three runs to open up a 5-0 lead.
After Jerry Hairston Jr. singled and Cunningham drew a walk, Tejada later drove in both runners after grounding a single up the middle to make it 4-0. Joe Beimel took over the mound for Esmil Rogers and gave up back-to-back singles to Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Ludwick, which scored Tejada to make it a 5-0 lead.
The Rockies then fired right back with four runs in the home half of the fifth to pull within one, eventually chasing Padres starter Cory Leubke off the mound. Carlos Gonzalez got Colorado on the board with an RBI single with two outs and runners on first and second. Troy Tulowitzki then followed with a three-run shot to trim the lead to 5-4.
The Rockies then had a chance to tie the score after singles from Melvin Mora and Todd Helton. The Padres then brought in Ernesto Frieri who got Ryan Spilborghs to end the inning on a fielder’s choice.
Oscar Salazar rounded out the scoring with a pinch-hit home run in the ninth to give the Padres the 6-4 win.
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