The scoreboard at Coors Field trumpeted the current homestand with the Padres and Dodgers as an “NL West Showdown.”
Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe must have been paying strict attention Monday night. The two sluggers rallied the Rockies to a 7-5 win over the Padres.
Mired in a post-All-Star Game slump, Holliday crushed a Scott Linebrink fastball 446 feet for a three-run homer in the eighth inning, tying the game at 5-5. It was Holliday’s 17th homer. After a Garrett Atkins single, Hawpe hit a game-winning, two-run homer off Cla Meredith. It was Hawpe’s team-leading 18th homer.
Closer Manny Corpas gave up one hit in the ninth, but struck out Brian Giles looking to end the game and collect his fifth save.
With the division-leading Dodgers beating the Astros 10-2, the Rockies remained 5 1/2 games out of first. The Padres fell two games behind the Dodgers.
For much of the night, the Rockies were showdown no-shows against Padres starter Greg Maddux. The four-time Cy Young winner wasn’t spectacular, just spectacularly consistent. He pitched six innings, giving up two runs on two hits. Maddux also sparked the Padres’ three-run third inning. He led off with a single, shocked the Rockies by swiping second and trotted home on Milton Bradley’s three-run homer off Jeff Francis.
The Rockies were hoping for a shutdown performance from Francis, but he failed to deliver. The Padres rocked him for five runs on 10 hits in just six innings. In addition to Bradley’s homer, Kevin Kozmanoff hit a 432-foot solo homer off Francis in the sixth.
