Padres-Rockies: Bullpen Implodes Late, Padres Lose Again

The San Diego Padres are officially in a tail spin and it's only going to get worse before it gets better, as we all saw last night in their 9-6 loss to the Rockies, the team's 12th loss in their last 14 games.


The Rockies jumped on Padres' starter Kevin Correia early, getting two runs in the second and another two in the third, taking a 4-0 lead heading to the home half of the third inning, making it look like the game could be over early.


In the home half of the third, the Padres would pick up three runs to pull within a 4-3 score, one of those runs coming as a result of a throwing error by Rockies' pitcher Jorge De La Rosa, scoring Henry Blanco who led off the inning with a walk.


In the fifth, with two on and two out and the Padres trailing 5-3, Scott Hairston launched an 0-1 fastball from De La Rosa to left field for a three run shot, his fourth of the year, to put the Padres ahead 6-5.

"It just put us ahead by a run," Hairston told MLB.com. "We knew that there was plenty of time left in the ballgame, there was no time to let up after that happened. You know, Colorado's a good team, they have a really good lineup."


Edwin Moreno would shut down the Rockies in the sixth, but got himself into trouble in the seventh, loading the bases with one out prompting manager Bud Black to bring in sidewinder Cla Meredith to face Rockies' catcher Chris Ianetta. Meredith worked the count to 2-2 but left a fastball up in the zone and Ianetta didn't miss it, hitting it over the left field wall for a grand slam to put the Rockies ahead for good 9-6.

Rockies' closer Houston Street would pitch a perfect ninth inning for his third save of the season.

Although the Padres did score six runs last night, it's not that much when you realize just how they got to that number. The Padres' offense finished the night with six runs on just four hits, four runs and three hits came off the bat of outfielder Scott Hairston, an RBI single in the third and his three run home run in the fifth. The rest of the offense could muster just one hit.

With the loss, the Padres will drop to 11-14, good for third place in the National League West behind the front running Los Angeles Dodgers (18-8) and 2nd place San Francisco Giants (12-11).

It sad to think that just a few weeks ago, this same Padres team was 9-3 and looking like they were going to be one of the more surprising teams in baseball. But that has come to a screetching hault, going 2-12 in their last 14 games, you have to believe that frustration has to be building in the Padres' clubhouse. It may just be a matter of time before that frustration boils over and some major changes are made.

"That was the type of game where everybody needed to do their job, and that didn't happen," manager Bud Black told MLB.com. "On any given night, you need the consistency from man-to-man."

The two teams will be back at it again tonight from Petco Park. The Rockies will have right hander Aaron Cook (1-1, 7.11) on the mound, the Padres will go with their young right hander Josh Geer (0-0, 5.29).