Saturday night in Coors Field, Padres RHP Joe Wieland made his first Big League start since May of 2012 after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Coors Field is not the place you want to make a triumphant return.
Wieland only lasted 2.1 innings, giving up two home runs (one a monster 2-run shot by Justin Morneau) and four runs on seven hits in Colorado's 7-6 win. The Rockies built a 6-2 lead, but Wieland was not saddled with a loss because the Padres offense actually woke up.
After going scoreless in their first 13 innings in Colorado (and scoring seven runs in their previous six games combined), the Padres bats finally remembered to make contact with the ball. Tommy Medica hit a solo home run and Cory Spangenberg smacked a 2-run blast to the opposite field as part of the comeback.
Spangenberg also hit a pinch-hit dinger Tuesday night at Petco Park to beat the Diamondbacks. He now has two home runs in 13 at-bats, giving him one more long ball than CF Cameron Maybin has in 202 at-bats.
A Seth Smith RBI single tied the game 6-6 in the 8th, ushering in extra innings.
The game finally ended in the 12th when Drew Stubbs singled home D.J. LeMahieu with the winning run. The Rockies go for the series sweep Sunday afternoon.
