Padres continue power surge, complete four-game series sweep of Rockies
San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (25), right, is congratulated by catcher Freddy Fermin (54) after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. The San Diego Padres continued to flex, as they matched their season high with three home runs to sweep the Colorado Rockies with a 7-2 win on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. Ty France knocked a trio of hits, including a double and his first home run of the season while scoring three times, while Manny Machado and Ramón Laureano drove in a pair of runs as the Padres (10-6) extended their winning streak to five games and swept the four-game series with Colorado (6-10).
Since their opening home stand, San Diego has won eight of their last 10 games. France led off the third inning with a solo home run, making no mistake with the second cutter he saw from reliever Valente Bellozo and crushing the knee-high delivery into the bullpen in center field on the first Military Sunday of the season. It was his first long ball for the Friars since bashing a two-run homer off then-Arizona’s Robbie Ray on Sept.
22, 2019. Starter Nick Pivetta left the game after throwing a fastball for a strike to Edouard Julien in the top of the fourth inning. He was removed by manager Craig Stammen and head athletic trainer Mark Rogow after sitting the Rockies down in order after his first time through the lineup and throwing 46 pitches.
The official announcement was elbow stiffness. San Diego did additional damage when Machado converted Jackson Merrill’s single and stolen base with an opposite field RBI single in the fifth. After not driving a run in over the first eight games, Machado has knocked in nine over the past seven games.
Laureano added more insurance by cracking his team-leading fourth home run of the season in the sixth, a two-run shot to left field that plated France and moved him into the team lead for RBI. It was the seventh start for Laureano in the lead off spot, with the Padres going 6-1 having Razor at the top of the order. Merrill squared up a low and inside four-seamer from Bellozo for a solo home run in the seventh inning.