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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
DENVER (AP) – Phil Nevin's three-run homer, a few bloop hits and
a key play at the plate lifted the San Diego Padres to a 14-10
seesaw victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday.
|  | | After taming Coors Field in his first start, Mike Hampton falls victim to the beast in start No. 2. |
Nevin's homer in the sixth off John Wasdin gave the Padres the
lead for good at 11-9.
It came just after the Rockies elected to intentionally walk
Tony Gwynn.
"He's earned that respect by being one of the best hitters in
our time," Nevin said. "Tony knows how to hit anybody, so they
probably had more confidence pitching a right-hander (Wasdin) to me
than a left-hander (Mike Myers) to Tony.
"I got a pitch up and in for the home run. Wasdin is a good
sinkerball guy, and he left the pitch up," he said.
Gwynn's run proved to be the clincher and saddled Myers (0-1)
with the loss.
The Padres erupted for five runs in both the fourth and sixth
innings, most of the damage coming off Mike Hampton. The Rockies'
ace helped himself with his first career home run.
Hampton went five-plus innings, surrendering 11 hits and nine
runs, six of them earned.
"We got some breaks, we know that," Padres manager Bruce Bochy
said. "It takes that. Going against one of the front-line starters
in the game, our guys battled well."
The Padres averted a damaging sixth inning by Colorado when
Neifi Perez led off with a single but was thrown out at the plate
on Larry Walker's double. The Rockies settled for one run in the
inning, on Todd Helton's sacrifice fly.
"That was a huge play," Bochy said. "They ended up getting
one run, but it kept us from a big inning. Tony did a nice job
getting to the ball. Huge relay by (second baseman Damian) Jackson,
and nice play by (catcher Wiki) Gonzalez blocking the plate."
Rockies manager Buddy Bell agreed.
"I thought Gwynn made a great play in right and Jackson made a
great play on the relay," he said. "We like to be aggressive, and
that's just the way it goes. We still had some chances, but we just
couldn't do anything today defensively or with our pitching."
Bell said Hampton didn't pitch that poorly.
"It seemed like everything they hit fell in and was in no-man's
land," he said.
Hampton said he had "pretty good stuff. I felt I didn't pitch
that poorly, but the scoreboard shows otherwise."
Jackson drove in three runs and Mark Kotsay drove in two for San
Diego. Woody Williams (1-1) got the win despite allowing nine runs,
eight of them earned.
"Bottom line is, we won," Williams said. "That's my job to
keep the team in the game, and we scored a ton of runs."
Trevor Hoffman got the last out for his first save.
Ron Gant had a three-run homer and drove in four runs for
Colorado.
Hampton, who pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings in the season
opener, gave up his first run in the second when Nevin doubled and
scored on Alex Arias' single.
Colorado went ahead 4-1 in its half, capped by Hampton's two-run
homer.
San Diego scored five runs, two of them earned, in the fourth to
take a 6-4 lead. Bubba Trammell led off with a 428-foot homer.
Gonzalez reached on a bloop single, Arias was safe on third baseman
Jeff Cirillo's error and Donaldo Mendez got his first major league
hit, a single, to load the bases.
Williams hit a sacrifice fly, and Jackson pushed a bunt past
second baseman Todd Walker for another run. Mendez scored on a
groundout, and Gwynn singled for the fifth run.
Colorado got a run in the fourth and reclaimed the lead with a
four-run fifth, highlighted by Gant's homer.
The Padres chased Hampton in the sixth as Mendez singled,
Williams doubled and Jackson hit an RBI single. Kotsay's grounder
off Myers scored another run and Gwynn then was walked
intentionally.
San Diego scored three runs in the ninth on RBI singles by Mike
Darr, Ryan Klesko and Jackson.
Game notes
Perez sprained his left thumb and left the game in the
seventh. Catcher Brent Mayne was hit on his right hand and also was
being examined after the game. ... The Rockies placed RHP Juan
Acevedo on the 15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Craig Dingman
from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Acevedo, acquired in a six-player
deal with Milwaukee on Wednesday, aggravated a groin injury after
throwing four pitches in relief Friday night. ... Hampton's first
career homer came on his 376th at-bat. ... Gwynn returned to his
familiar No. 3 spot in the batting order. He batted fifth in two
games of the season-opening series against San Francisco, the first
times he has batted in that spot since Aug. 30, 1983.
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RECAPS
Baltimore 4
Cleveland 2
Toronto 3
NY Yankees 2
Detroit 5
Chi. White Sox 3
Kansas City 5
Minnesota 3
Oakland 4
Anaheim 2
Boston 6
Tampa Bay 2
Seattle 6
Texas 5
Chicago Cubs 8
Philadelphia 4
Milwaukee 6
Cincinnati 1
Montreal 10
NY Mets 0
Pittsburgh 5
Houston 3
San Diego 14
Colorado 10
St. Louis 8
Arizona 4
Florida 8
Atlanta 0
Los Angeles 10
San Francisco 4
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