|
 "He's proving to people that he's a viable shortstop candidate,"
said Murphy, who was talking about the glove work of Gyorko at his
new position.
But Gyorko has also picked it up offensively at his new spot.
Wednesday night, Gyorko hit a three-run homer to break a 2-2 tie and
send the Padres racing to an 11-4 victory over Colorado at Petco
Park.
Gyorko was far from the Padres only weapon as they pounded 18 hits
and continued their mastery of the Rockies at Petco Park.
Right fielder Matt Kemp hit a solo homer and drove in two runs.
First baseman Will Myers and third baseman Yangervis Solarte each
had three hits and two RBIs. Catcher Derek Norris and center fielder
Melvin Upton Jr. had two hits apiece.
But it was Gyorko who led the way as the Padres improved to 7-1
against the Rockies at Petco Park this season. Since the All-Star
break of 2013, the Padres are 17-4 at home against the Rockies.
Gyorko is hitting .300 (12-for-40) with four homers, two doubles and
11 RBIs on the 11-game homestand that ends Thursday afternoon.
And he is hitting .340 (16-for-47) with six homers and 14 RBIs in 13
starts as a shortstop.
"I'm swinging the bat right now," said Gyorko. "You're never
satisfied, but my swing is where it needs to be right now."
Rockies left-handed starter Chris Rusin (5-8) threw a complete-game,
five-hit shutout against the Padres the first time he faced San
Diego on Aug. 16 in Denver.
Wednesday night was a radically different story. He gave up six runs
on eight hits, including the Kemp and Gyorko homers, in just three
innings.
"It was hot out (a Petco Park night game record of 89 degrees at the
first pitch), but I just didn't make my pitches," said Rusin. "I
left one up to Gyorko and he got all of it. I was too predictable."
"Chris was having to work awfully hard all night," said Rockies
manager Walt Weiss. "He didn't have his best command. He's been real
good for us, but every once in a while you have a clunker."
The Rockies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and had
a potential third run thrown out at the plate on a perfect throw by
left fielder Justin Upton. The runs scored on two-out singles by
first baseman Justin Morneau and second baseman DJ LeMahieu.
Kemp put the Padres on the board in the bottom of the first with his
20th homer -- a 407-foot shot to right center that extended his
career-long on-base streak to 29 straight games. The Padres tied the
score in the second on a bases-loaded walk drawn by starting pitcher
James Shields (11-6) with one out.
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Gyorko's three-run homer as the highlight of a four-run third that
shot the Padres to a 6-2 lead.
Solarte and Kemp opened the third with singles. After Justin Upton
struck out, Gyorko lined an 0-and-2 pitch into the left field seats
for his 14th homer of the season -- and his 12th since returning
from Triple-A El Paso on June 30. Gyorko has four homers and 15 of
his 49 RBIs against the Rockies this season.
The Padres weren't done. Norris and Upton Jr. followed with
back-to-back doubles that made it 6-2. Norris's double was his 10th
against the Rockies this season -- the most ever by a Padre against
another team in a single season.
Catcher Dustin Garneau hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Shields
to halve the Padres lead. Garneau's first career homer was the 29th
served up by Shields this season, tied for the second-most allowed
in the National League.
But Shields blanked the Rockies over his final two innings and
finished the night allowing four runs on eight hits and four walks
with six strikeouts in six innings.
The Padres stretched their lead to 9-4 with three runs in the bottom
of the sixth on four straight singles by second baseman Cory
Spangenberg, pinch-hitter Alex Dickerson, Myers and Solarte. Myers,
Solarte and Kemp (on a ground out) drove in the runs.
NOTES: An MRI taken of his neck Wednesday morning showed Rockies C
Nick Hundley suffered a cervical strain last Sunday while swinging
in his last at-bat. Hundley will be re-evaluated in three or four
days. ... OF Corey Dickerson started in left field Wednesday night
for the Rockies one day after returning from his third stint on the
disabled list this season. ... Padres RHP Joaquin Benoit's back
spasms have almost disappeared and the set-up reliever is listed as
"possible" for Wednesday night. ... Padres manager Pat Murphy said
Jedd Gyorko is "proving to people that he's a viable candidate to
play shortstop."
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