ICYMI: Offense Cools Down, Padres Fall 2-1

Franklin Morales (56) Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Just one night after the Padres’ offense looked hotter than a San Diego summer, the cool nights in Coors Field shut it down. Only one run came from the Friars tonight, falling 2-1 at the hands of a very hittable Franklin Morales.

The Rockies opened the scoring with a homer by Charlie Blackmon, who also added a double to lead off the game as well. Other than that, the bats were silenced, thanks to a stellar performance by Tyson Ross, who pitched 6 strong innings, picking up six strikeouts, with no walks, and allowing only the two runs. After him came the bullpen, spearheaded by Dale Thayer, Blaine Boyer and Alex Torres

The pitching for the Rockies was less impressive, albeit more effective in terms of run prevention. Franklin Morales continued to have control issues, walking three and being pulled after only 5.2 innings of work. He allowed four hits on top of that, but only one run. The one run came off of a homer by Rene Rivera, who’s really hot right now, but would have been a game-tying blast had Tommy Medica not grounded into a double play before him, erasing the baserunner.

The Padres had three chances to tie things up, with a runner in scoring position in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, yet nothing came of the three chances. A lack of timely hitting has killed the team this year, and Wednesday night was no different. Morales, as well as the bullpen, were all very hittable, and could be attacked with the right approach. But the team would get over aggressive and put bad pitches into play, bailing the Rockies out of tough spots.

The toughest to swallow was a two-out double by Seth Smith, giving Chris Denorfia a chance to tie it up as a last ditch effort. But Deno flied out to Blackmon in RF, and their fate was sealed.

The series ends Wednesday as (gulp) Eric Stults will face Jair Jurrjens. Yes, I’m surprised Jurrjens is in the majors too, the Rockies have really been hurting with injuries. Jurrjens is also the same pitcher who Braves fans were outraged when they heard he might get dealt for Adam Jones. Maybe that trade could’ve worked out. But anyway, series finale, noon, be there, or at least on your couch watching your television set, or at work. That’s a good excuse.