Holliday, Rockies rout Padres
Denver, CO - Matt Holliday went 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and four runs scored and Aaron Cook pitched a complete game, as the Colorado Rockies crushed the San Diego Padres, 10-2, in the rubber match of a three-game set.
Garrett Atkins and Ryan Spilborghs each knocked in three runs for the Rockies, who were coming off four losses in their last six games.
Cook (7-6) gave up just the two runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks. Cook also finished 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored.
Brian Giles went 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Padres, who have lost five of six.
Justin Germano (6-5) suffered the loss after yielding six runs on seven hits through five-plus innings. The right-hander fell to 1-5 over his last seven starts.
The Padres struck for a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Rockies responded with 10 unanswered runs to surge in front.
Holliday hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the first to cut Colorado’s deficit in half before doubling in the fourth and scoring on Atkins’ two-out single to tie the game at 2-2.
After Spilborghs’ leadoff homer in the fifth gave the Rockies their first lead of the game, Colorado broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning.
Kaz Matsui led off the inning with a single and scored on Holliday’s second double. Germano then walked Todd Helton and Padres manager Bud Black had seen enough.
Kevin Cameron took over for Germano and Atkins greeted him with a single that Padres left fielder Russell Branyan misplayed, allowing both Holliday and Helton to score.
Spilborghs’ sacrifice fly later in the sixth made it 7-2.
Colorado tacked on two more runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Atkins and Spilborghs and another run in the eighth on Matsui’s RBI groundout.
In the first inning, Adrian Gonzalez’s single to right plated Giles, who led off the game with a single and went to third on Michael Barrett’s double. Khalil Greene’s subsequent double play groundout was enough to hand the Padres a 2-0 lead.
Game Notes
Before the game, the Padres optioned outfielder Terrmel Sledge to Triple-A Portland and recalled pitcher Clay Hensley…Barrett is appealing a one-game suspension he received for his actions in San Diego’s 9-0 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.
