Rockies 7, Padres 4
DENVER - Before the Colorado Rockies began a 10-game homestand Friday night, their final one of the season, with a 7-4 win over the San Diego Padres, manager Walt Weiss succinctly summed up matters.
"We haven't played as well at home as we wanted to," Weiss said. "So it's important that we finish strong here."
The Rockies are now 32-40 at Coors Field, where the Pirates and Dodgers will visit after the Padres and where the Rockies' worst single-season records are 35-46 in 2012 and 38-43 in 2004 and 2011.
Rockies starter Chad Bettis (8-5) held the Padres to four hits and one run in five innings with one walk and six strikeouts. But he threw 94 pitches and didn't take the mound for the sixth.
Shortstop Jose Reyes singled home two runs in a three-run seventh, boosting the Rockies' lead to 6-2 after the Padres had trimmed it to 4-2 in the top of the inning on first baseman Wil Myers' home run. It was Myers' eighth of the season, and it came off Justin Miller, who had not yielded a home run in 26 previous appearances totaling 26 1/3 innings.
The Rockies caught a break in the seventh when reliever Mark Rzepczynski fielded pinch hitter Daniel Descalso's sacrifice bunt and threw the ball into center field.. Rzepczynski then walked center fielder Charlie Blackmon to load the bases for Reyes.
After Carlos Gonzalez grounded into a double play, third baseman Nolan Arenado flared a run-scoring single into short right-center. It was his third single of the game and gave the National League leader 112 RBIs.
San Diego second baseman Cory Spangenberg singled home a run in the eighth with one out and runners on first and second, and a second run scored on the play when Blackmon's throw skipped past third base. Pitcher Jairo Diaz was backing up home plate.
Rzepczynski's errant throw was San Diego's second defensive mistake. Spangenberg dropped a relay throw in the third that enabled Arenado to score on first baseman Justin Morneau's double.
Padres starter Ian Kennedy (8-15), who is tied for the major league lead in losses, allowed four runs, three earned, in six innings. His record on the road fell to 2-10.
Bettis has won his past two starts, allowing one run and seven hits in 12 innings in those outings with four walks and 12 strikeouts.
Closer John Axford worked the ninth to earn his 24th save in 29 opportunities and eighth in his past nine chances.
The Padres handed the Rockies a run in the third, giving them a 4-1 lead. With two outs, Arenado singled, and Morneau lined a double over the head of right fielder Matt Kemp. Arenado stopped at third but trotted home when Spangenberg muffed Kemp's relay throw.
Catcher Dustin Garneau doubled home two runs in the second after left fielder Corey Dickerson's run-scoring single, giving the Rockies a 3-0 lead. Arenado began the rally with a leadoff single, and second baseman DJ LeMahieu drew a one-out walk ahead of Dickerson.
The double gave Garneau eight RBIs on seven hits, five for extra bases, since he replaced injured catcher Michael McKenry on the Rockies' roster Aug. 19.
The Padres made it 3-1 in the third on left fielder Justin Upton's ground out. Myers opened the inning with an infield single, and third baseman Yangervis Solarte followed with a ground-rule double as his drive to center field bounced over the wall.
Solarte took second on a wild pitch, butBettis minimized the damage. Upton's grounder was sandwiched between a strikeout of Kemp and shortstop Jedd Gyorko's ground out.
NOTES: Rockies 1B Justin Morneau's triple in the sixth gave him triples in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. ... Colorado RHP Tyler Chatwood, who is coming back from his second Tommy John surgery on July 24, 2014, started Thursday night for low Class A Asheville and took the loss as the Tourists were eliminated 5-1 by Hickory in the South Atlantic League championship series. Chatwood threw 42 pitches, including 22 strikes, while allowing one hit and two runs (one earned) with three walks and two strikeouts. He is scheduled to stay with the Rockies through most of this final homestand that ends Sept. 27 and then go to the Rockies' Instructional League program in Scottsdale, Ariz. ... Padres RHP Shawn Kelley threw 20 pitches in his first simulated game since he suffered a strained right forearm on a warmup pitch Sept. 1. The reliever is expected to throw a bullpen session Sunday and be ready for Tuesday's series opener with the Giants. ... Padres C Derek Norris was back in the lineup. He hadn't played since he suffered a bruised right hand Monday and left the game at Arizona in the bottom of the fifth. ... Padres RHP Casey Kelly will start Friday at Petco Park against the Diamondbacks. It will be his first start in the majors in three years. Kelly underwent Tommy John surgery April 1, 2013.