Brendan Rodgers, Charlie Blackmon hit home runs to help Rockies beat Padres 7-3

DENVER (AP) — Brendan Rodgers and Charlie Blackmon hit home runs, Cal Quantrill pitched effectively for five innings and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 on Friday night.

Jordan Beck added three hits, including an RBI single, for the Rockies, who cooled down the surging Padres. Before Friday, the Padres had won 19 of their 23 games going back to the All-Star break, including 10 of their last 11.

Ha-Seong Kim and Xander Bogaerts homered for the Padres. Jackson Merrill had a pair of hits, including a one-out triple in the sixth, but the Rockies let him down by turning the third of their four double plays of the game. “With an off day (Thursday), you know you want to come out strong,” Rodgers said. “Everybody got a good rest. It was good to get up early on a team like that, that’s hot. It felt good to get those four in the first and we got a couple more and held on to that lead.”

Quantrill (8-8) allowed three runs on six hits, struck out five and walked two in his first start in 12 days. Rockies relievers Angel Chivilli, Lucas Gilbreath, Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik combined to throw four scoreless innings.

“I made a couple bad throws in the first and second half, but I think we got going after that,” said Quantrill, who missed a start at the advice of team coaches because of a bout of stiffness in his forearm.

“It was just a little bit of a mix. I didn’t rely too much on the splitter or the fastball, which was a nice change of pace. It’s probably not going to be the best start ever, but we talked about the importance of winning at home. That’s a team that’s really hot right now. We beat them, so overall I think it’s a good day.”

For San Diego, Matt Waldron (7-10) allowed seven runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Waldron came in having won both of his previous starts against Colorado this season, but was in trouble from the start. He walked Charlie Blackmon to lead off the first and Ezequiel Tovar followed with a single. One out later, Ryan McMahon singled to drive in Colorado’s first run and Rodgers then hit a 77-mph knuckleball deep into the left-field stands for his 10th home run of the season to give the Rockies a 4-0 lead.

“That first inning was tough,” Waldron said. “It hurts to let my teammates down, especially that early, and just throw the momentum away. But I’ve got to take it. I’m getting serious about all the work I have to do to give myself the best chance to perform there and win again.”

Kim hit his 11th home run, a two-run homer against Quantrill in the second inning, before Blackmon answered with a two-run homer against Waldron in the third inning to extend Colorado’s lead to 6-2.

The Padres scored a run on a homerun by Bogaerts early in the fourth inning and Beck’s third single of the night brought in Michael Toglia, who had doubled, in the sixth inning.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: OF Fernando Tatis Jr., sidelined since mid-June with a stress reaction to his right thigh, has been improving steadily, but there is no timetable for his return. “He’s definitely getting there,” manager Mike Shildt said. “We want to get some healing done before we go up. Once he gets going, I think he’ll be ready pretty quickly.”

ROSTER SWING

In the latest sign of the Rockies’ continued commitment to a youth movement, the team released veteran catcher Elías Díaz and signed rookie catcher Drew Romo from Triple-A Albuquerque. Díaz, 33, was the Rockies’ regular catcher for most of the last five years and went to last season’s All-Star Game, where he won the MVP award after hitting a home run to win the game for the NL. Romo was the 35th overall selection in the 2020 draft and was ranked the No. 9 prospect in baseball by MLB.com.

NEXT

Padres RHP Dylan Cease (11-9, 3.41 ERA) will look to earn his fourth straight winning decision when he takes the mound Saturday night against Colorado, who will pair him with Kyle Freeland (3-4, 5.75 ERA).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Dennis Georgatos, The Associated Press