Central Plains FFA Chapter

04/12 18:50 CDT Padres top Rockies 7-2 for 4-game sweep but Nick Pivetta exits with stiff elbow Padres top Rockies 7-2 for 4-game sweep but Nick Pivetta exits with stiff elbow SAN DIEGO (AP) --- Ty France went 3 for 3 with a home run and scored three times as the surging San Diego Padres finished a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 7-2 victory Sunday. Ramn Laureano hit a two-run homer and Jackson Merrill also went deep for the Padres, who have won five in a row and eight of nine. However, starting pitcher Nick Pivetta exited with right elbow stiffness in the fourth inning. Brett Sullivan had a two-run double for the Rockies, who were held to a pair of hits. Colorado arrived in San Diego on a four-game winning streak. Manny Machado's sacrifice fly gave the Padres a 1-0 lead in the first against emergency opener Jimmy Herget (0-1), who got the start when Kyle Freeland was a late scratch with left shoulder soreness. Pivetta retired the Rockies in order through three innings, striking out four before leaving after throwing a fastball to even the count at 2-2 on Edouard Julien leading off the fourth. Kyle Hart came in and got the next seven outs. He gave up Sullivan's two-out double in the fifth that cut it to 3-2. Freddy Fermin hit a sacrifice fly against Chase Dollander for a 2-0 lead in the second and France launched his first home run of the season --- off Valente Bellozo --- to make it 3-0 in the fourth. Bellozo threw 90 pitches in relief, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings. Machado had an RBI single for a 4-2 lead in the fifth after Merrill singled and stole second base. Laureano, who had a three-run homer in Saturday's victory, hit his fourth of the season --- a two-out, two-run shot after France's single to make it 6-2 in the sixth. Merrill capped the scoring in the seventh with a leadoff homer --- his third. David Morgan (2-0) struck out four in 1 2/3 hitless innings for the win. Wandy Peralta and Bradgley Rodriguez finished for the Padres. San Diego's only other four-game sweep of Colorado came in 1999.

Up next The Rockies begin a three-game series in Houston on Tuesday night. They swept three games from the Astros at Coors Field last week before heading to San Diego. Padres RHP Michael King (1-1, 3.24 ERA) starts Tuesday at home against the Seattle Mariners. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb