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Colorado Rockies’ Bullpen Blows It — Again (!) — San Diego Padres Win 7-5

By Bobby DeMuro

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Aug 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher J. Gray (55) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres met Saturday night for the second game of their three-game series in Denver at Coors Field.

5. 108. 7. 127. Final

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Yet again, the Colorado Rockies’ bullpen blew a lead in the late innings — this time it was Tommy Kahnle giving up three runs in the top of the ninth while trying to close out the game, and the San Diego Padres turned a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 victory on Saturday night at Coors Field in Denver.

Jon Gray started for the Rockies, and did extremely well — he allowed just one run on four hits and no walks in five innings pitched, striking out four Padres hitters and leaving with a 3-1 lead after throwing 50 of his 69 pitches for strikes.

The Rockies got those three runs on a Carlos Gonzalez RBI groundout in the bottom of the first inning, followed in the bottom of the third with a Nolan Arenado two-RBI single, and even though Gray was on a very tight pitch count — hence, only throwing five innings — he had his second extremely successful start in a row.

In the top of the sixth, though, Gonzalez Germen came on and allowed three runs on three hits and a walk, blowing the lead and giving the Padres a 4-3 lead.

But, to the Rockies’ credit, they immediately scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, on Ben Paulsen‘s sacrifice fly, and Nick Hundley‘s RBI single, that re-gained the lead for Colorado at 5-4 after six full frames, and put Germen in line for a vulture win.

Miraculously, the next two innings were scoreless for each team, as the Rockies’ bullpen (today, Scott Oberg and John Axford) tossed two scoreless innings, and the Rox took a 5-4 lead to the ninth for new closer Tommy Kahnle.

Kahnle blew it in the ninth, after Melvin Upton, Jr. reached on a throwing error by Hundley that also scored Derek Norris, and then with runners on base, Brett Wallace hit an RBI single, and Yangervis Solarte knocked a sacrifice fly to give the Padres the 7-5 lead, which eventually became a victory after Craig Kimbrel shut down the Rockies in the bottom half of the inning.

The Rockies and Padres will meet Sunday afternoon at 2:10 pm MT to finish their three game series, before Colorado gets an off day on Monday.

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