DENVER (AP) -- With the San Diego Padres desperate for a win,

Brian Giles provided the spark.

Giles hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning, then

capped a 12-run ninth with a three-run homer Sunday in a 15-2

victory over the Colorado Rockies.

"We are getting to the point of the season where we pretty much

have to win every game from here on out to give us an

opportunity," Giles said. "In the wild card we are close, but

there are still a few teams ahead of us that we really can't

control, so this one was big."

San Diego, 2½ games behind San Francisco in the NL wild-card

race and trailing three other teams, had 18 hits and won for just

the fourth time in 12 games.

With the score 2-all in the eighth, Giles connected off Steve

Reed (3-6) to reach 20 homers for the sixth straight season.

"I think Reed threw me a changeup, and he made a pretty good

pitch down," Giles said. "I was just able to get to it and get

the good part of the bat on it, and it got in the air, and the ball

was gone."

San Diego tied a team record with 10 hits in the ninth and

finished one run shy of the team record for an inning. Ramon

Hernandez singled and doubled in the inning, and Sean Burroughs

tripled and singled.

Burroughs started the ninth-inning scoring with a two-run triple

off Brian Fuentes. Phil Nevin hit an RBI single off Tim Harikkala

that made it 6-2, and Jay Payton had a two-run double. Kerry

Robinson and Ramon Hernandez hit run-scoring singles for a 10-2

lead.

Terrence Long and Burroughs hit RBI singles against Chris

Giselle, and Giles completed the scoring with a three-run homer.

"It seemed everything that they hit pretty much fell in a

hole," Colorado catcher Charles Johnson said. "Some of them

weren't bad pitches. They were just finding holes."

Jake Peavy (12-5), coming off losses in consecutive starts,

allowed two runs and seven hits in eight innings and struck out

eight.

Jamey Wright gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings and

got a no-decision for the fifth time this year at Coors Field.

Nevin's two-run single in the third but San Diego ahead. Todd

Helton homered in the fourth inning for the Rockies, reaching 30

homers for the sixth year in a row, and Colorado tied the score

with an unearned run in the sixth. Helton had a one-out single and

moved to third when Xavier Nady dropped Vinny Castilla's fly ball

in left and threw past second baseman Mark Loretta trying to throw

out Helton. Jeromy Burnitz followed with a sacrifice fly.Game notes
San Diego scored 13 runs in the first inning against St.

Louis on Aug. 24, 1993, and 13 in second inning against Pittsburgh

on May 31, 1994. ... The Padres also had 10 hits in an inning

against Florida on Aug. 23, 2002. ... The Rockies won the season

series 10-9. ... Giles was robbed of a double on a diving stop by

Helton at first base in the first inning. ... Nady threw Castilla

out at the plate to end the sixth following Johnson's single. ...

Wright was hitless in 30 at-bats since July 23, 2002, before a

fifth-inning double. ... Colorado manager Clint Hurdle was ejected

after San Diego batted in the sixth for arguing ball and strikes.

... Colorado LF Matt Holliday is to have an MRI exam on his left

elbow Monday. Holliday was hurt trying to make a diving catch on

Hernandez's liner in the ninth.