Rockies 6, Padres 3
DENVER -- Chad Bettis gave the Rockies a much-needed strong start, and Colorado walloped five home runs in a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
Carlos Gonzalez homered twice, and Rockies rookie shortstop Trevor Story homered for the seventh time in his first six major league games.
After Colorado was outscored 29-9 while losing the first two games of the series as their starters threw a combined 7 1/3 innings, Bettis (1-0) worked seven innings in the longest outing by a Rockies starter in the young season.
Bettis gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks while striking out six.
Padres starter James Shields (0-2) got 14 ground-ball outs in seven innings. However, he gave up two homers in the first, another in the seventh and yielded a key single to Bettis that helped the Rockies score a run in the fifth to go ahead 3-2.
Shields was touched for four runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out two.
Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado hit back-to-back homers in the first, and Ryan Raburn took Shields deep in the seventh. Story and Gonzalez hit back-to-back homers in the eighth off Brandon Maurer.
Tony Wolters singled with one out in the fifth for his first major league hit and dashed to third when Bettis followed with a single to right-center. Wolters scored to put the Rockies in front when Charlie Blackmon grounded to first into a force play, with Blackmon easily beating shortstop Alexei Ramirez's relay throw.
Gonzalez and Arenado each went deep with two outs in the first. Arenado entered the game 3-for-19, but he went 2-for-4, including his second homer of the season. Gonzalez has three homers this year.
The Padres made it 2-1 in the second on Adam Rosales' two-out double. San Diego tied the score at 2 with an unearned run in the third that was set up when left fielder Gerardo Parra bobbled Cory Spangenberg's single, allowing runners to move to second and third. Matt Kemp then thought he drew a walk on a 3-0 pitch, but plate umpire Marvin Hudson called it a strike.
Bettis retired 13 straight batters before Ramirez singled with one out in the seventh. Wolters threw Ramirez out trying to steal, and Bettis finished his 99-pitch workday by striking out Rosales.
Shields gave up a pinch-hit homer to Raburn, the fifth pinch-hit blast of Raburn's career and his first with the Rockies, to make it 4-2. However, the Padres made it a one-run game on Spangenberg's one-out double in the eighth off Boone Logan. Miguel Castro relieved Logan and retired Kemp and Wil Myers on grounders.
Jake McGee pitched the ninth to earn his second save of the season.
NOTES: Padres 3B Yangervis Solarte (right hamstring strain) was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and INF Alexi Amarista was recalled from Triple-A El Paso. Solarte pulled up as he neared first base Saturday night after hitting a single to the gap in left-center. ... Rockies C Tony Wolters made his first major league start. Wolters batted eighth, so 2B DJ LeMahieu, who frequently bats eighth, hit sixth for the first time this season. ... The Rockies' 16-3 loss Saturday night was their most lopsided defeat since they lost 20-5 at Philadelphia on May 26, 2008, and their most lopsided loss at Coors Field since they fell 15-2 to the San Francisco Giants on May 13, 2007.