(Sports Network) - The last time that Kip Wells faced the Colorado Rockies, he
picked up a pair of firsts. He'll look for more success over the NL West
rivals tonight when his San Diego Padres continue a three-game series versus
the hosting Rockies.
Out of the majors for the previous two seasons, Wells earned his first victory
at the big-league level since Sept. 20, 2009 when he hurled seven scoreless
innings of six-hit ball at Colorado on July 1. It was also his first victory
over the Rockies, moving him to 1-3 with a 5.53 earned run average in seven
meetings.
Wells, though, has lost two starts since, with the Padres getting shut out in
both games. The 35-year-old righty himself allowed two runs on three hits and
five walks in a 2-0 setback to the Houston Astros on Monday, struggling
through 4 1/3 frames.
"We kind of had a plan to pitch them backwards at times: with certain guys,
start them soft, finish them hard. ... When that didn't work, I didn't make an
adjustment quick enough to go to more fastballs," Wells told San Diego's
official website.
In four starts this season, Wells is 1-3 with a 2.82 ERA.
He'll oppose another veteran in the 31-year-old Jeff Francis, who is 2-2 with
a 4.76 ERA in eight starts on the year with the Rockies.
Francis pitched well in his first start following the All-Star break on Monday
versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, scattering a run and six hits without a walk
over five innings. The lefty did not factor into a 5-4 win, however.
Francis beat the Padres on June 29, hurling six shutout innings of three-hit
ball. It was a rare win over San Diego, moving him to 6-13 with a 5.39 ERA in
23 encounters.
Though last night's opener took place in San Diego, it had more of a Coors
Field feel to it as the Padres hit a trio of home runs en route to a 9-5 win.
Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer and both Carlos Quentin and Chase Headley
added solo shots to help the Padres win its fourth straight and for the sixth
time in seven games.
Chris Denorfia belted a two-run triple prior to Grandal's homer in the third,
a four-run frame that came after Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez had put his team
ahead in the top of the inning with his second career grand slam.
"Guys are picking each other up all across the board and that's what it takes
when you string wins together," said San Diego manager Bud Black.
Rookie starter Drew Pomeranz lasted just three innings in the setback and was
charged with seven runs on nine hits.
The Rockies wore black wristbands to honor the victims of Friday's mass
shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were killed and many were injured
when a lone gunman opened fire at a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in
Century 16 Movie Theaters. The cineplex is located less than 20 miles from
Coors Field.
"The realization that we're just playing a baseball game tonight pales in
comparison to what a number of people are going through as we sit here right
now," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said prior to his team's fifth loss in its
last six games.
Colorado catcher Wilin Rosario, who is hitting .254 on the season with 15
homers and 39 RBI, left the game in the second inning with an injured left
ankle after attempting to block a pitch in the dirt. He is day-to-day.
The Rockies have lost six of 10 matchups with the Padres in 2012 and 10
of the previous 14 encounters in this series.
The Sports Network