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The last time the
Colorado Rockies
visited Petco Park, they set scoring records at the
San Diego Padres
' three-year-old stadium.
The Rockies (26-24) hope to put forth another strong offensive performance at the venue when the teams open a three-game set
on Monday.
Colorado swept a series from the Padres (26-24) at Petco Park in early April, becoming the first team to score at least 10
runs in three straight games there. The Rockies' 32 runs were a series record at Petco, and 24 of their 48 hits were for extra
bases.
After scoring four runs during a season-high five-game losing streak, Colorado rebounded to defeat San Francisco 6-3 on Sunday
and is hoping to give
Jason Jennings
some run support when he takes the mound in the opener of this series.
Jennings (2-5, 5.18 ERA) has lost three straight games, but the Rockies have scored just five runs in those contests.
''His record says he's 2-5, but he's pitched a lot better than that. And that's what he needs to focus on and hold onto,''
Rockies manager
Clint Hurdle
said. ''We always talk about controlling things that are in your control. And what he can control is how he pitches. He can't
control how many runs we're going to score. That's a trap that young players fall into and one he's got to stay away from.''
Jennings, though, didn't pitch well in his last start. The right-hander gave up six runs and a season-high 11 hits in an 8-1
loss to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
on Tuesday.
''If we don't score we don't win. And if I don't pitch good, we don't win. So it's a bad combination right now,'' said Jennings,
who is 7-4 with a 5.11 ERA in 17 starts against the Padres.
He allowed three runs and five hits in six innings in a 10-4 win at Petco Park on April 9, and is 3-0 with a 3.74 ERA in five
outings there.
San Diego has just four victories in its last 12 games, but has won 10 of its last 14 at home.
Mark Bellhorn
drove in four runs and hit the longest homer in Petco's history, a 438-foot shot, in the Padres' 10-8 win over St. Louis on
Sunday.
Right fielder
Brian Giles
went 2-for-4 with a run on Sunday, and is 7-for-16 (.438) with three runs and three RBIs in his last four games. He's batting
.372 (29-for-78) with three homers and 19 RBIs in 23 games against the Rockies since the start of last season, and is 10-for-33
(.303) with two home runs and nine RBIs against Jennings.
Mike Thompson
(2-0, 3.00) looks to win his third game in his third major league start when he takes the mound for the Padres on Monday.
Thompson held Atlanta to one run, four hits and one walk in seven innings of a 2-1 victory on Tuesday.
''You look at Thompson's job, that's seven solid innings,'' San Diego manager
Bruce Bochy
said. ''That's a great job by that kid. In a tight ballgame, too. He pitched well.''
The 25-year-old right-hander has allowed four earned runs and 11 hits in 12 innings over two starts.
Colorado third baseman
Garrett Atkins
went 8-for-15 (.533) with a homer and six RBIs at Petco in the series in April, while
Matt Holliday
- who leads the Rockies with a .326 average - is batting just .155 (11-for-78) with 18 strikeouts in 19 games there.
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