Yonder Alonso has 2 RBIs to help Padres defeat Rockies 3-2

SAN DIEGO — Finally, Edinson Volquez got his first win with San Diego, and the Padres became the last NL team to get to 10 victories.
Volquez got some help from the bullpen to earn his first victory in seven starts and Yonder Alonso drove in two runs to lead the Padres to a 3-2 victory against the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

“About time,” said Volquez, acquired from Cincinnati in the offseason. “It feels good. I don’t care how I win the game, but I want to win.”

Volquez (1-2) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings, struck out five and walked four. His ERA went up slightly, to 2.98.

“Tonight I wasn’t sharp like my last three games,” Volquez said. “It happens sometimes. Sometimes you feel like you have nothing and tonight was one of those days. The bullpen came on and did a pretty good job.”

He allowed a run in the sixth on two singles and a walk before being relieved by Joe Thatcher with runners on first and second and one out. Thatcher struck out Todd Helton before Brad Brach came on and caught Michael Cuddyer looking at strike three. Carlos Gonzalez singled in a run that inning to pull the Rockies to 3-2.

“Good ‘W’ for Eddie. He deserved it. He pitched well,” manager Bud Black said. “He battled his tail off today. Found a little bit of a groove in the middle of the game ... then it sort of left him again. But he battled. He really couldn’t find the consistency of any of his pitches. It just goes to show you how this game it. He ended up getting the win on probably one of those starts where he wasn’t his sharpest.

“That was a typical Petco Game where it comes down at the end to relief work or a big hit, and today was relief work and the Rockies didn’t get the big hit,” Black said.

The Rockies were held to five hits.

“That’s not enough to win a game here,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said, “especially when you have two guys that have two hits each.”

The Rockies lost their fourth straight game and their shaky rotation took another hit. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz left with a bruised right quad in the fourth, two innings after he was hit by a line drive by Volquez.

Pomeranz stuck around long enough to hit his first career homer, driving a ball off the facade of the second-deck in left field off Volquez with one out in the third.

Pomeranz was hit on the right leg by Volquez’s liner with one out in the second. He fielded the ball and threw out Volquez. He was checked by the trainer and stayed in the game.

Tracy said he doesn’t think Pomeranz will miss his next start.

Pomeranz (0-2) was the fourth straight Rockies starter who failed to reach the sixth inning. He allowed three runs and five hits in three innings, walked three and struck out two.

Alonso singled in runs in the first and third innings. Another run scored in the second on a wild pitch.

Dale Thayer pitched the ninth for his second career save and first since his major league debut on May 22, 2009, at Florida while with Tampa Bay.


(washingtonpost.com)