DENVER — The San Diego Padres climbed to the top of the National League West the way most winning teams build their records: They beat the teams they should beat far more often than not.
But there is this one team that wears purple (on most nights) and plays in a big ballpark a mile high and isn’t very good at all — except most games it plays against the Padres.
That team Saturday night wore its green and white “City Connect” uniforms, and that was about all that was different. The Rockies still beat the Padres, this time 5-4.
The Rockies’ fourth straight victory over the Padres — and the ninth straight at Coors Field — was powered by three home runs, the last one a solo shot by Ryan McMahon off Luis Garcia in the eighth inning.
After four innings of being mostly baffled by German Marquez, the Padres scored three runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead.
Jake Cronenworth, who had singled, moved to second on Manny Machado’s walk and scored on Luke Voit’s single in the third inning, led off the fifth inning with a double. Machado followed with a home run, his 12th of the season. Voit then doubled, went to third on Eric Hosmer’s single and scored on a groundout by Nomar Mazara.
The Rockies tied the game in the bottom of the fifth on Charlie Blackmon’s two-run homer off Nick Martinez, who in the first inning surrendered a two-run homer to C.J. Cron. That was Cron’s third homer in two days.
The Padres had runners at first and second with one out in the ninth before Machado struck out looking and Voit grounded out against Daniel Bard. It was the third inning in which the Padres stranded at least one runner in scoring position that had arrived there with less than two outs.
The Padres are 21-6 against the other losing teams they have played this season but have lost four of six against the Rockies.
Going back to last season, the Padres have won just five times in their past 19 games against the Rockies. The teams play again here Sunday afternoon.
