Colorado Rockies Rock The Padres, Win 5-4

Apr 22, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies pinch hitter Daniel Descalso (3) is doused with water after the game against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. Descalso hit a walk off single in the ninth inning. The Rockies won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies got off the skid Wednesday night with a walk-off victory over the San Diego Padres thanks to a clutch pinch-hit by Daniel Descalso.

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Well, the streak is over! After dropping five straight games to fall to 7-7 after a hot start to the year, the Colorado Rockies withstood a comeback by the San Diego Padres and won 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off single Wednesday night.

Daniel Descalso was the hero for the Rockies, punching a single to the left-center field gap as the Padres played with five infielders and the bases loaded. The Rockies are now above .500 again, sitting at 8-7 on the young season.

Kyle Kendrick started for the Rockies and was solid, going seven full innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and just one walk. He did allow two solo home runs, and he coughed up the lead in the seventh, putting the Rockies temporarily down 4-3, but he gave the club 21 outs (on just 86 pitches, 61 strikes) and rested the bullpen on a night the team really needed him to come through.

The Padres struck first in the first when Yangervis Solarte blasted a solo home run, but the Rockies answered back quickly. Corey Dickerson mashed a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the first off James Shields, and Nolan Arenado added an RBI double to make it 2-1 Rockies after the first frame.

The Rockies got another run in the second when red-hot DJ LeMahieu drove in Michael McKenry with a double to make it 3-1 in favor of the home team.

The score stood at 3-1 for several innings, as both Shields and Kendrick settled in to their respective starts, and for a while today, it looked like the game was a battle of the aces in the making. Shields ended up going six innings, allowing the three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

In the top of the sixth, a Wil Myers solo home run made the game 3-2, and in the bottom of the seventh, the Padres pushed two more runs across against Kendrick to take a 4-3 lead, thanks to a Derek Norris RBI double followed by a Cory Spangenberg pinch-hit RBI double.

Despite coughing up the lead for the second night in a row, the Rockies wouldn’t go quietly on this evening, and Dickerson blasted a solo home-run – his second of the game – off Joaquin Benoit in the bottom of the eighth inning to make it a 4-4 tie heading to the ninth.

In the ninth, after Adam Ottavino tossed a perfect top half of the frame, the Rockies loaded the bases on Padres reliever Shawn Kelley. The Padres brought Myers in to the infield to cut the run down with five infielders and only two outfielders, as Kelley faced pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso.

Descalso lined a single to left-center field to seal the deal, and gave the Rockies their first walk-off win of the season.

Ottavino (1-0) took the win in relief for the club, while Kelley (0-2) took the loss after getting just one out and allowing three hits and a walk in the ninth.

Michael McKenry went 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Rockies on Wednesday night. Dickerson was 2-for-3 with the two solo home runs and a walk, and Arenado was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

The Rockies and Padres play the final game in the four-game set Thursday afternoon at 3:10 pm MT. The Rox can still salvage a split with a victory Thursday afternoon, before the San Francisco Giants come into town over the weekend.

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