With a rare opportunity for an away sweep, the Padres' bats fell silent in the usually hitter-friendly Colorado.
In fact, it was the eighth straight time the team had an opportunity for a series sweep and failed.
Credit to Rockies starting pitcher Chris Rusin (4-5). The lefty tossed a five-hitter for his first career complete game and first win in nearly two months. It was only the 12th ever complete-game shutout at Coors Field.
Ian Kennedy (7-11) pitched well but gave up a home run in the sixth inning to Carlos Gonzalez for the game’s first run.
It turned out that’s all the Rockies needed. Kennedy pitched into the seventh but couldn’t get out of the inning. After a Derek Norris error on a pop-up the flood gates opened. Colorado notched four runs in the inning.
The 5-0 loss marked the 16th time this season the Padres were shutout. The Padres open a 3-game series at Petco Park on Monday against the Braves followed by a series against the NL Central leading Cardinals over the weekend.
