Thirteen pitches, then 414 feet
Colorado had lost eight in a row. Then a rookie decided that was enough.
Cole Carrigg homered twice on Tuesday night in Denver and the Rockies buried the San Diego Padres 9-3, ending a losing run that had dragged on for more than a week. Carrigg finished with four hits and five RBIs, both career highs. He had already gone deep for two runs in the third before the at-bat that decided the night.
That one came in the sixth. Randy Vasquez had just entered with Colorado up 4-3 and runners aboard. Carrigg fouled off pitch after pitch, stretched the plate appearance to 13, and finally drove one 414 feet to right. It was his 10th homer of the season and his third in two games.
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San Diego’s streak dies at Coors Field
The Padres arrived in Denver on an eight-game winning run and with something concrete to play for. A ninth straight would have pulled them level with Philadelphia for the second National League wild card and to within half a game of the Chicago Cubs. They got none of it.
Fernando Tatis Jr. opened the game with his 23rd homer. Luis Campusano added his eighth to start the second, and Austin Hays went deep in the fifth to put San Diego in front 3-2. Walker Buehler gave up two runs on seven hits across 4 2/3 innings and handed things over.
Wandy Peralta inherited the sixth and never escaped it. Mickey Moniak tripled, Troy Johnston doubled, Brett Sullivan singled in the go-ahead run and Jake McCarthy kept the line moving before Carrigg ended the suspense. Colorado tacked on two more in the seventh on a Johnston double and a Zac Veen single. Johnston finished with three hits, McCarthy and TJ Rumfield with two apiece.
Freeland’s goodbye, possibly
Kyle Freeland came off the injured list to start, and there is a real chance Denver just watched his last home outing in a Rockies uniform. The left-hander was born and raised in the city. He reaches free agency at the end of the season and may not be back. He allowed three runs on eight hits in four-plus innings and walked off after Hays cleared the fence.
Ryan Feltner picked him up with five shutout innings to close the night and move to 6-10. Colorado sit at 56-95, San Diego at 82-69. The win changes nothing about where the Rockies finish. It changed plenty about how the room felt walking out.
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