SAN DIEGO — At 10:37 a.m. MT Sunday, rookie pitcher Greg Reynolds walked into the clubhouse with Ryan Spilborghs with a smile on his face. At 3:47 p.m., he jogged into the visitor’s dugout where Aaron Cook met him with a congratulatory handshake.
In between, Reynolds, the second overall pick in the 2006 draft, showed intriguing potential with his cannonball sinker. As promised, he competed. But predictably, he was punished for a few mistakes, the Padres’ drilling two home runs off the right-hander in a 6-1 victory.
Reynolds never seemed overwhelmed, despite having 24 friends and family in attendance. He worked 5 2/3 innings — that’s an improvement over the load carried by the Triple-A demoted Mark Redman — and allowed four runs.
The damage came on big blasts. Scott Hairston hooked a home run inside the left-field pole in the fifth inning and Khalil Greene, who has more home runs off the Rockies than any other team, crushed a fastball into the seats in the sixth as part of a three-run sixth inning. Greene is Petco Park’s all-time home run leader with 28.
The Rockies managed just one run on San Diego starter Chris Young, and even that came with a blemish. Catcher Chris Iannetta grounded into a seventh-inning double play with the bases loaded. The Rockies are off Monday and begin a three-game series with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. Colorado is 1-5 against the division-leading Diamondbacks this season.
“It doesn’t matter who we play. It’s about us playing better,” manager Clint Hurdle said.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
