Padres' wild 1st frame starts with run on balk
DENVER -- In their four-run first-inning rally on Monday night, the Padres got a bit of help en route to their first run. There was nothing cheap about the next three.
On a stormy evening at Coors Field, the Padres capitalized on a mistake from Rockies starter Chad Bettis. With runners on first and third, Bettis checked on William Myers at third base, then attempted to come set.
One problem: Bettis did so without the ball.
As Bettis moved his right hand toward his glove, the baseball slipped out of his palm. It was ruled a balk instantly, and Myers scored the game's first run.
The Padres plated three more in the frame, as Eric Hosmer and Jose Pirela singled, before a three-run jack from Carlos Asuaje. But the Rockies tied the score in the bottom of the first inning as Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story hit home runs off Bryan Mitchell.
It was Arenado's first at-bat against Padres pitching since he was ejected on April 11 for charging the mound after Luis Perdomo threw a fastball behind him.