Alonso's late HR not enough as Rox fall to SD

SAN DIEGO -- Yonder Alonso found the right-field stands by inches Saturday night at Petco Park. The second pinch-hit home run of his career lifted the reeling Rockies into a seventh-inning tie with the Padres, providing a moment of hope that the club’s month of misery might be nearing an end.

That moment passed.

The Padres pulled away against the Rockies’ bullpen, hitting two eighth-inning homers to snag an 8-5 victory and send the Rox to their fifth straight loss. The Rockies are staring at the possibility of a four-game sweep and an 0-6 road trip if they don’t correct course in Sunday's series finale.

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Since July 14, when the Rockies last stood at .500, they are 6-19. A month ago, they had playoff aspirations. Now, they trail the fourth-place Padres by 3 1/2 games in the National League West.

“Today was a hard-fought game by both teams,” Alonso said. “It came down to two or three pitches. It is what it is. We’ve got to continue to learn from it and get ready to win a big game [Sunday].”

For Alonso, the “get ready” part has been an adjustment in Colorado. Accustomed to everyday duty, he came to the Rockies as a bench player after the White Sox released him in July. He batted .178 with the Sox, but he has a .333/.419/.667 slash line through 27 at-bats with the Rox.

Alonso's home run off the bench Saturday came against reliever Craig Stammen on a 1-2 knuckle-curve. He swung through a similar pitch on the first pitch he saw before Stammen threw three straight sinkers. With Chris Iannetta on second base, Alonso connected on his second look at the knuckle-curve and lofted it 363 feet, just beyond the reach of right fielder Hunter Renfroe.

“It was a tough at-bat,” said Alonso, who spent four seasons in San Diego. “To be honest, I’m not even thinking about trying to drive the ball at all. I’m just trying to get the ball up and get Chris to third base. But I hung in there tough, got to two strikes and he threw a hanging curveball, and I put a good swing on it.

“That’s what you have to do as a bench player. You have to understand the situation and be ready to go at all times.”

In the assessment of manager Bud Black, the Rockies remain ready as a team, too. At any moment, they could reverse fortunes despite the ballast seemingly pulling them downward.

“Good energy,” Black said. “The pregame stuff is solid. These guys are pros.”

The Rockies showed some energy by rallying from a 5-2 deficit to tie the game. Nolan Arenado had an RBI single in the sixth before Alonso’s homer an inning later. But the Padres answered in the eighth with a two-run homer from Manuel Margot off Jairo Diaz and a pinch-hit solo homer by Wil Myers off Jake McGee.

Rockies starter Chi Chi Gonzalez allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings. The Padres made hard contact. Nine balls against Gonzalez came off the bat at 100 mph or more, per Statcast.

“I was just battling from the second inning on,” Gonzalez said. “First inning, I felt great. From the second inning on, it was a grind. My slider was backing up. I was leaving every breaking pitch over the middle. … They capitalized on my mistakes, and I can’t have that many.”