DENNIS GEORGATOS
Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — Joaquin Benoit was at his best while throwing 19 straight scoreless innings. He was still pitching pretty well when the streak ended Wednesday.
Drew Stubbs hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Benoit in the eighth inning and Troy Tulowitzki followed with his second homer of the game to lead the Colorado Rockies to a 6-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.
“It happened today that they put on good swings, but this is normal in baseball,” Benoit said. “You can’t be perfect all year — or at least when you’re going good, you can’t be surprised when something goes bad. It wasn’t my day. That happens.”
The teams combined for seven home runs, five by the Rockies on a day when balls were carrying at high altitude in Coors Field.
“We outhit ’em but they outhomered us and that was the difference,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “They got five. We got two. Five minus two is three, and they won by three runs.”
Black said he thought Benoit (3-1) pitched just as well as he has previously, when he was putting up zeros.
“Benoit has been outstanding,” Black said. “He should be on the All Star team the way he’s thrown the ball. His stuff was good. He got two strikeouts and a popout to center. They hit a couple of high flies that went out, one by an All-Star (Tulowitzki).”
Charlie Blackmon and Wilin Rosario also went deep for the Rockies, who won a home series for the first time in nearly two months.
Seth Smith and Jake Goebbert homered for San Diego. It was the first major league homer for Goebbert, who made his Padres debut June 20 against Los Angeles.
“It was a really amazing feeling to hit a home run at this level,” Goebbert said. “Hopefully, that can be the first of many.”
Blackmon started the rally against Benoit with a single and Stubbs followed with his ninth homer of the season and fifth in his last five games.
Tulowitzki, who also homered in the first, then hit an 0-1 fastball into the left-field seats. It was Tulowitzki’s second multihomer game this season and the 10th of his career.
Boone Logan (2-1) pitched the eighth for the win and LaTroy Hawkins worked the ninth for his 17th save in 18 chances.
Colorado starter Jair Jurrjens didn’t experience any of the trouble breathing he had during his Rockies debut last Friday, but he was only able to last 4 2-3 innings. He left after the Padres tied the game at 3 on Smith’s solo home run and a wild pitch that scored Chris Denorfia.
It was the only run in the game not scored on a homer.
Jurrjens gave up eight hits and struck out six before leaving, but it could have been worse. With two runners on in the fifth, Yasmani Grandal hit a foul ball that had home run distance down the right-field line, a close call that was upheld after a replay review.
Grandal said he thought the ball went over the foul pole fair before bending back foul.
“From my point of view it left the ballpark fair, but it was so high that by the time it came down it just went straight out,” Grandal said. “It got into the wind stream and blew the other way. It’s one of those calls that could go either way. But there’s nothing you can do. You’ve just got to get back at it, but yeah, it’s a tough feeling.”
Colorado’s All-Stars got things started in the first against Eric Stults. Blackmon hit his fourth leadoff home run of the season and second homer in two days into the Rockies’ bullpen. One out later, Tulowitzki hit a line drive into the bleachers in left.
Goebbert could have tied it with his homer in the fourth — the first of his major league career — but Grandal was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single. He was initially called safe but was ruled out after a review that lasted 1 minute, 32 seconds.
Rosario led off the fourth with his ninth home run to give Colorado a 3-1 lead.
Stults allowed three runs on five hits and struck out five in five innings.
NOTES: The Padres announced they interviewed assistant general manager Josh Stein for their vacant GM job. … Padres SS Everth Cabrera (left hamstring strain) will meet the team in Los Angeles on Friday for a series against the Dodgers. … Both teams have Thursday off. … The Padres have 18 players with a home run this season, tops in the majors.
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