Padres 4, Rockies 3: Hedges plates ninth-inning game-winner

The Padres and Rockies were locked in a pitchers’ duel for the first three and a half innings of this afternoon’s game. In the bottom of the fourth, Jhoulys Chacin got stung with three runs. But the pitching staff buckled down with five scoreless innings after that, setting the offense up for their dramatic late-inning comeback.

The fourth inning truly looked like a disaster. Carlos Gonzalez led off by drawing a walk, with Nolan Arenado and Gerardo Parra following with back-to-back singles. Trevor Story did some serious damage with a two-run double, but gave Chacin a gift when he got greedy and tried to take third. That bonus out helped the Friars get out of the inning without any more damage.

Going into the sixth inning, it looked like the Padres weren’t going to do much of anything. Then Yangervis Solarte came to the plate with two outs and destroyed the ball.

That homer jump-started the offense, who put together an impressive two-out rally in the eighth. Carlos Asuaje got things going with a line drive to right, and Solarte put the tying run in scoring position with a double. Wil Myers drew a walk, and the bases were loaded for Hector Sanchez and his mighty fine pelo.

Matt Szczur kept the ball rolling in the ninth. He drew a walk off Greg Holland with one out, bringing Allen Cordoba to the plate. Cordoba hit a single, and Szczur turned on the afterburners to get to third on the play. That set up Austin Hedges for a sacrifice bunt. It wasn’t the greatest bunt in the world, but Szczur made it pay off with his mad dash to the plate.

Brad Hand took over in the bottom of the ninth and sent the Rockies down in order to stave off the sweep.

The Padres head home to start their final homestand of the season agains the Diamondbacks. Luis Perdomo has the first pitch at 7:10 PM.