Manager Bud Black had a one-word answer Saturday night when asked if there was any panic because the Padres’ lead in the National League West was reduced to one game over the Rockies.
“No,” Black said.
The Padres came to Denver with a three-game lead over Colorado and Los Angeles but have lost the first two games of the series, entering today’s game at Coors Field that is the last before the all-star break.
Wade LeBlanc, who gave up three home runs in the Rockies’ 4-2 victory and took the loss, was more talkative.
“Why should we be panicking?” LeBlanc asked. “We’re at the all-star break. We have a long way to go. I think we’re going to keep on doing what we’ve done all year.”
But it was a pivotal game. A Padres victory would have assured that San Diego retained the lead going into the break. Now, a Rockies win today means a tie at the top.
The Padres have led the NL West all but two days since April 21.
Playing in a tight race isn’t something new for them. Their biggest lead was 4 1/2 games on June 27.
Black maintained a low-key approach before the game.
“I look more at how we’re playing than where we are in the standings,” Black said. “We don’t care about what other teams are doing. We have to play well. There’s no discussion about anything else.”
The Padres found themselves playing from behind early. Home runs by Melvin Mora in the second and Carlos Gonzalez in the third had them behind 2-0.
Scott Hairston and Yorvit Torrealba got the first hits of the game off Rockies starter Jason Hammel in the fifth inning, but the Padres left the bases loaded.
The Padres scored two runs in the seventh to make it 4-2, but Carlos Gonzalez made a leaping catch in left field to rob Adrian Gonzalez of a potential home run in the eighth.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
