|
 Kennedy retired the first 12 Rockies he faced before walking
shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to open the fifth. An inning later,
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado stopped Kennedy's no-hit bid
with a lead-off double that struck the third-base bag.
In the seventh, however, the Rockies broke through to erase a 1-0
Padres lead.
"Kennedy didn't miss a spot for the first five innings," said
Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer. "For us to take advantage of a
small opening was huge."
With one out in the seventh, Rockies left fielder Corey Dickerson
doubled inside the bag at third ahead of a second straight walk to
Tulowitzki.
First baseman Justin Morneau followed with a liner to right that
sailed over the glove of Padres right fielder Chris Denorfia for a
game-tying double. Tulowitzki scored the go-ahead run on catcher
Wilin Rosario's grounder to short. Arenado singled to left to score
Morneau.
"Ian threw great, he deserved better," said Padres manager Bud
Black.
There were two key plays in the Rockies' game-winning rally — Morneau's double and Rosario's grounder.
"I should have caught it," said Denorfia. "It had a little bit of a
funky knuckleball spin. I took a bad first step and it was over my
head."
Not only did that hit tie the score, it put Rockies at second and
third with one out. Lack opted not to play his infield in to protect
against the potential game-winning run — which scored on Rosario's
grounder to short, which would have been the third out if Denorfia
had caught Morneau's line drive.
"I feel bad because Ian pitched good and we couldn't get anything
going offensively," said the Padres Xavier Nady, whose 378-foot
homer to left leading off the fourth accounted for the Padres only
run.
Other than giving up Nady's homer, Rockies left-handed starter
Franklin Morales matched Kennedy.
Morales, who replaced the injured Brett Anderson in the Rockies
rotation, allowed only three other hits over six innings. He walked
one while striking out five. Morales is 1-1 and his ERA fell from
6.39 to 4.82 Thursday.
"Morales was effectively wild," said Denofia. "It was hard to
execute a game plan against him."
Kennedy fell to 1-3 with a 4.13 ERA. He allowed three runs on four
hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in as many innings.
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"I threw well the first six innings," said Kennedy. "I was getting
ahead and making good pitches. It's nice to execute like that. The
seventh was frustrating. But if I throw like that every game, I'll
be happy."
After Tulowitzki's walk in the fifth, Padres shortstop Everth
Cabrera then made the second of two outstanding plays that supported
Kennedy's no-hit bid through five innings, making a leaping catch of
Morneau's looping liner that was headed toward the grass in left
field.
Kennedy got out of the fifth by getting Rosario to ground into a
double play started by third baseman Alexi Amarista.
In the sixth, Arenado was sacrificed to third on a bunt by DJ
LeMahieu. But Kennedy struck out pitching rival Morales then got
center fielder Charlie Blackmon to ground out to third.
Earlier in the game, Amarista, who started a second straight game at
third because Chase Headley is sidelined with a strained right
biceps muscle, charged a third-inning bunt by LeMahieu and threw the
Rockie out by a half-step.
NOTES: Rockies LF Carlos Gonzalez got Thursday off because he was
2-for-29 lifetime against Padres starter Ian Kennedy ... Padres
brought Triple-A INF Ryan Jackson to San Diego to have injured right
wrist re-evaluated. It could require surgery ... Padres 3B Chase
Headley missed second straight start with right biceps strain and
Padres manager Bud Black lists him as day-to-day, although disabled
list has been discussed. Headley did single as a pinch-hitter ...
Rockies RF Michael Cuddyer left the game in the seventh with a mild
hamstring pull.
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