Blackmon has 4 hits, Desmond hits slam as Rockies top Padres
DENVER (AP) — Charlie Blackmon and Ian Desmond continued to scorch Padres pitchers, and the Rockies needed every bit of it to avoid another big meltdown.
Blackmon finished with four hits for the third straight game, Ian Desmond hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, and Colorado beat San Diego 14-8 on Saturday night in another wild Coors Field game.
Blackmon became the first Rockies player to have three straight four-hit games and continued his torrid June. He is batting .500 in eight games since coming off the injured list. He is the first player to in the majors to accomplish the feat since Rafael Furcal did it May 13-15, 2007.
"It's hard to get one or two hits a game and here he is getting four three nights in a row," Colorado manager Bud Black said. "That's pretty special stuff."
Desmond is not far off Blackmon's pace. He homered for the second straight game for the first time since 2016 and is batting .438 with 14 RBIs on his current nine-game hitting streak.
"With how hot Chuck is, I'm just trying to keep up with him. That's impossible," Desmond said. "He's swinging the bat real well right now. Loud noises are contagious."
San Diego third baseman Manny Machado had two hits and scored twice before being ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke in the fifth inning after a called third strike. Manager Andy Green and Matt Strahm, Thursday's starter, were ejected in the sixth.
A couple of close strike calls had Machado upset.
"He didn't like the call on the last pitch, so he voiced it, and Bill felt like he needed to be ejected," Green said.
Green was ejected when he went to vehemently state his case to Welke in the bottom of the sixth with reliever Phil Maton on the mound. He continued yelling at Welke when Strahm, standing at the railing of the dugout, reacted in disbelief when he was tossed after cheering on Maton.
"Bill was mistaken on who was yelling at who at that point," Green said. "There were times we were yelling about balls and strikes, but at that point he was mistaken."
Ian Kinsler had three hits and three RBIs for the Padres, who nearly rallied from a six-run deficit for the second straight night. They trailed 11-5 in the ninth Friday and went on to win in 12 innings.
They were behind 11-4 in the fifth Saturday after Desmond's fourth career grand slam, but made it a game on Eric Hosmer's three-run single in the sixth and an RBI double by Kinsler in the seventh.
Unlike Friday, however, the Rockies added to their lead on David Dahl's two-run triple and Desmond's sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Dahl finished with three hits and three RBIs.
"These guys are pretty resilient, mentally," Black said. "Our guys don't blink, which is great."
German Marquez (7-3) tossed 5 1/3 innings for the Rockies, who scored five runs off San Diego starter Eric Lauer (5-6).
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: Green said OF Franchy Cordero (right elbow strain) is idle after he left Wednesday's rehab assignment with a left leg injury. "He's not close to playing after that. I'm not sure how long he's out," Green said. "He's down."
Rockies: SS Trevor Story was in the lineup after suffering a forehead contusion in Friday night's loss. A grounder deflected off Story's glove and hit him above his left eye in the eighth inning and he left that game. He was 3 for 4 with two runs in the win Saturday night.
REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE
Both teams made moves to bolster their bullpens after Friday night's 12-inning game. San Diego optioned right-hander Miguel Diaz to Triple-A El Paso and recalled Maton from El Paso.
The Rockies also recalled a reliever, bringing up right-hander Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioning Brendan Rodgers to Albuquerque. Rodgers was the club's top prospect when he was recalled and made his major league debut on May 17.
UP NEXT
Padres LHP Nick Margevicius (2-6, 5.02) will face Colorado RHP Peter Lambert (2-0, 1.50) in the series finale Sunday in a matchup of rookies.
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