SAN DIEGO -- The Rockies broke the monotony of Spring Training with a basketball shooting contest four days before Opening Day. So seeing C.J. Cron, who had missed nearly two weeks with back spasms, leaping for rebounds brought an alarmed reaction from manager Bud Black.

He wanted Cron to save himself for nights like Thursday.

Cron homered twice among his four hits, tied a Rockies season-opener record with five RBIs and set the club opener mark with 11 total bases in Colorado’s 7-2 victory over the Padres at Petco Park.

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“I tweaked my back, honestly, at the perfect time,” Cron said. “It gave me about 10 days to let that spasm go away. [Then] I got three games’ worth of at-bats. For me it was all about health. I didn’t care about the results. I knew I had enough at-bats in the spring to feel confident.”

The performance against the Padres exemplified the kind of rebound the Rockies want from Cron.

Last year, Cron was the Rockies’ only All-Star, thanks to his .298/.350/.552 first-half slash line in 90 games, with 21 home runs, 21 doubles and 69 RBIs. The second half brought a .197/.263/.341 slash line in 60 games, with eight homers, seven doubles, a triple and 33 RBIs.

Cron began Thursday with a first-inning RBI single off Padres starter Blake Snell. He greeted Nabil Crismatt with one out in the fifth with a three-run homer, and led off the seventh with another homer off Domingo Tapia -- one that Elehuris Montero followed with a homer.

Cron matched a five-RBI performance by Vinny Castilla in a 9-2 victory over the D-backs on March 31, 1998.

The RBI record nearly fell in the eighth, but Padres left fielder Juan Soto grabbed Cron’s eighth-inning double and fired to shortstop Xander Bogaerts, whose throw to the plate beat runner Kris Bryant. It took a lengthy replay review to confirm that Bryant didn’t successfully complete the journey from first base.

Cron’s night was so good that he could chide himself for chasing some pitches when he struck out against Snell with runners at second and third and no outs in the third inning. (The Rockies didn’t score.)

“If I’m swinging at the strikes and taking the balls, I’ve been a pretty good hitter,” Cron said. “I need to stay disciplined, and that’s what I was happy with in Spring Training. I wasn’t chasing, even though I did some today.”

Cron wasn’t the only Rockies hitter who could reflect on a big night. Colorado got three hits apiece from Bryant and Charlie Blackmon.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Rockies became the first team since 1900 to have 17 or more hits and 17 or more strikeouts in a nine-inning game. (They landed on 17 in each category). The hitting was backed by a strong start from Germán Márquez (six innings, two runs, five hits, five strikeouts).

“We had some good hacks,” Black said. “The strikeouts are probably attributed to overanxiousness -- Opening Day excitement, guys wanting to get hits -- but some really good at bats in there, too, against some good arms.”

Black didn’t fret about Cron’s lack of spring at-bats or his .212 Cactus League batting average.

“I trust C.J. I’ve known him for a long time,” said Black, who was a front-office assistant with the Angels when Cron was a young player with the club. “I felt good about that.”

Blackmon also missed Spring Training time with back trouble.

“I told him before the game, ‘A week ago, we were a little questionable, but it’s different when it counts.’” Blackmon said. “And you saw that out of C.J. tonight.”

Cron not only had time to prepare for the season but have his team win the basketball shooting challenge.

“They had to push that back about a week just so I could do it,” Cron said. “But we won.”

And Cron leaped into the season with no fear.