San Diego, CA – Dexter Fowler and Josh Rutledge clubbed back- to-back homers in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Colorado Rockies to a 7-5 win over the San Diego Padres in the opener of a three-game set at Petco Park.
The Rockies erased a two-run deficit in the eighth, capitalizing on a costly San Diego error, then Fowler and Rutledge took Padres closer Huston Street (0-1) deep in the next frame.
Fowler, who also homered in the fifth, broke a 5-5 tie with a blast to right field. Rutledge then cleared the wall in left with a line-drive shot.
"I am just going up there looking for good pitches to drive," Fowler said. "That first one, I thought that's way back and it barely cleared the fence. That second one, I really thought I got it."
San Diego went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth, with Rafael Betancourt earning his fourth save of the season. The late power surge made a winner out of Rex Brothers (1-0).
Todd Helton collected three hits and knocked in a run for the Rockies, who posted a three-game sweep of the Padres last weekend in Denver to extend their winning streak to five games. Colorado was then swept in three games at San Francisco.
Yonder Alonso hit a two-run homer and Will Venable also had two RBI for San Diego, which has won only two of its first 10 games.
"Anytime you have a loss, it's tough," Alonso admitted. "It's definitely very disappointing. We have to play better."
The Padres took the field one day after taking part in an intense bench- clearing brawl. San Diego outfielder Carlos Quentin incited the fracas when he charged the mound after being hit by a pitch thrown by the Dodgers' Zack Greinke.
As a result, Quentin received an eight-game suspension and was fined an undisclosed amount by the league. Quentin played Friday night after appealing the suspension but wasn't much of a factor, going 0-for-4.
The Padres trailed 2-0 before coming to the plate, as the first six Colorado batters reached base against starting pitcher Tyson Ross to start the game.
A Troy Tulowitzki single plated Rutledge and Carlos Gonzalez scored on Michael Cuddyer's base hit. With the bases loaded and one out, Ross avoided further damage by striking out both Wilin Rosario and Chris Nelson.
San Diego tied things up in the bottom of the first on Alonso's blast to center off Colorado starter Jon Garland.
Fowler put the Rockies back on top in the fifth, but the Padres countered in the home half of the frame as Nick Hundley led off with a double and scored on Venable's single.
Hundley and Venable each knocked in a run in the seventh to give San Diego a 5-3 lead.
Colorado, however, responded in the eighth against Luke Gregerson. With a man on first and one out, Cuddyer reached on an error by third baseman Jedd Gyorko. Helton followed with an RBI double and Cuddyer scored the tying run on a groundout by Rosario.
Game Notes
Garland gave up three runs on five hits in six innings ... Ross allowed three runs on five hits, walked three and struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings ... The Padres selected the contract of pitcher Thad Weber from Triple-A Tucson and designated infielder Cody Ransom for assignment.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.