A new challenger to the Los Angeles Dodgers is emerging in the National League West, and it’s sure not the skidding Rockies, who have slipped back into their customary, losing ways.
It’s the San Diego Padres, who rallied to beat the Rockies 7-6 in front of a disgruntled crowd of 22,600 at Coors Field on Tuesday night. The Padres have won six of their last seven games. The Rockies lost their fifth straight and fell to 1-4 at home.
Colorado’s bullpen had been stellar in the early going, but it got shredded.
The Rockies led 5-2 through five innings and 5-3 through seven. But the Padres scored four runs in the eighth off Rafael Betancourt and Boone Logan, who gave up three run-scoring hits in falling to 0-1. Yangervis Solarte and Wil Myers hit RBI singles, and Derek Norris crushed a go-ahead, two-run double off Logan to make it 7-5.
“It’s a (crummy) feeling to let 24 other guys down,” Logan said.
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The left-hander said the key to the Padres’ rally was not necessarily the hits, but rather, plunking the first batter he faced — left-handed hitter Yonder Alonso, with one out in the inning.
“I had him down 1-2 and I hit him,” Logan said. “I should have put him away with a slider. When you do that, it can come back to haunt you.”
Rockies manager Walt Weiss continued to remain upbeat in the wake of the season’s first losing streak.
“This was a tough one to lose,” Weiss said. “I thought those (Padres) hits just found some grass.”
Nick Hundley, who tripled earlier in the game, hit his first home run of the season to lead off the ninth against Padres closer Craig Kimbrel, cutting the deficit to one. But Kimbrel then struck out Wilin Rosario, got Corey Dickerson to ground out to first and Daniel Descalso to pop out to end the game for his fifth save of the season. Brandon Maurer, who pitched a scoreless seventh inning, earned the victory.
“The (Padres) did a good job coming back. It’s unfortunate,” shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. “Things were looking good, but we just couldn’t put them away. They are a good team, no doubt.”
Logan entered the game having given up just one run in six appearances. He was charged with three runs Tuesday in two-thirds of an inning.
Unlike Logan, Rockies starter Tyler Matzek got out of so much trouble, he should moonlight in Las Vegas as an escapologist. The lefty could work his way out of a straitjacket, with his ankles shackled, while underwater.
Matzek walked two Padres in the fourth inning but escaped by getting Alonso to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. That was just Matzek’s warm-up act.
He opened the the fifth by walking former Rockies infielder Clint Barmes and opposing starter Brandon Morrow, who reached base for the first time in his big-league career after 20 plate appearances. Myers followed with a single to right, but Barmes, perhaps fearing the arm of right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, got stuck between home and third and was tagged out. An error by third baseman Rafael Ynoa, starting for the injured Nolan Arenado, loaded the bases. But — abracadabra — Matzek escaped again with a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Matt Kemp.
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“I had to get through it,” Matzek said of the fifth inning, adding that his catcher gave him a boost. “Hundley got on me, yelled at me, got me fired up. That’s what I needed.”
Matzek finished the night with a career-high six walks in five innings. He allowed two runs on four hits — including a solo homer by Barmes in the Padres’ two-run third inning. Still, Matzek has a 2.40 ERA after three starts.
“I knew I’d have to battle,” Matzek said. “I just tried to keep runs off the board.”
Staring at five straight defeats, Tulo tried to remain positive.
“The bottom line is that we are at .500,” he said, referring to the Rockies’ 7-7 record. “Yeah, it’s been an ugly streak. We have lost five straight games. But no one said this was going to be easy, we knew it was going to be tough.
“We started off well, but we knew there was going to be a time when it was going to be rough. We didn’t know it was going to be so quick, but that’s part of baseball.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or
