SAN DIEGO—Brian Giles drove in two runs during San Diego’s six-run fourth inning and Josh Geer won his major league debut subbing for Jake Peavy in the Padres’ 9-4 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.
The loss prevented the Rockies from moving within five games of first-place Arizona in the NL West. The Diamondbacks lost 6-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Geer (1-0) pitched five innings for the victory, allowing two runs and five hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Geer needed 105 pitches to get through the minimum number of innings for the win.
The right-hander, a third-round draft pick in 2005, became the 11th San Diego player to make his major league debut this season, including five pitchers.
Peavy was originally scheduled to start on Saturday but was pushed back one day after throwing 121 pitches in his last start.
Colorado lost for the fourth time in 13 games.
Rookie Will Venable and Edgar Gonzalez each drove in two runs as San Diego (51-83) won for the fourth time in five games. The Padres are attempting to avoid 100 losses for the sixth time in team history and the first time since 1993.
Ubaldo Jimenez (9-12) held the Padres hitless through three innings before his lack of control hurt him in the fourth, when he walked four.
After giving up a leadoff double to Luis Rodriguez, Jimenez issued consecutive one-out walks to load the bases. Venable, who made his major league debut on Friday night and got a hit in his first at-bat, drove in his first run with a bases-loaded single.
Rookie Edgar Gonzalez drove in another run on a forceout. Jimenez then loaded the bases with a walk to rookie Nick Hundley before forcing in a run by walking Geer.
Glendon Rusch replaced Jimenez and gave up a two-run double to Giles and Rodriguez’s RBI single for a 6-2 lead.
Jimenez gave up six runs on only two hits but gave up five walks in 3 2-3 innings.
Geer gave up singles to the first two batters of the game. The Rockies scored off him twice in the second on consecutive two-out, RBI singles by Clint Barmes and Willy Taveras for a 2-0 lead.
Barmes added a two-run triple in the ninth.
Colorado dropped to 18-8 against rookie starters this season.
Notes:@ The Rockies have not been within five games of the NL West lead since April 21. … The 11 San Diego players who have made their major league debuts this season is five shy of tying the team record, set in 2002. … Padres OF Jody Gerut was held out of the lineup for a second straight game with to a sprained left finger. It is not certain how long Gerut will be out. … Venable tripled in his first major league at-bat on Friday night, he joined John Sipin as the only two Padres to accomplish the feat. Sipin did it on May 24, 1969.
