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Gonzalez, offense continue to produce as Padres beat Rockies

Apr 22, 2007 - 6:30 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- After a recent offensive power outage, Adrian Gonzalez and his teammates have begun to light it up.

Gonzalez had two hits, including a solo homer, and Marcus Giles added four hits, including two doubles, as the San Diego Padres posted a 7-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies,.

Mike Cameron had two hits and scored twice and Brian Giles also had two hits and drove in two for San Diego, which has scored 29 runs in its last three games after scoring just 13 in its previous four.

"We've been doing a good job as a team hitting the ball over the past few games," Gonzalez said. "I'm just trying to do my job up there."

The Padres had 15 hits, giving them 44 in their last three games.

"Once we shuffled the lineup a bit, things started clicking," Marcus Giles said. "We've been able to get things going lately and it's been fun seeing guys come through."

The first six players in the lineup each had at least two hits, bettering the effort from the previous night when the top five in the lineup had at least two.

"We've seen it coming," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Better swings, better takes. We're seeing hard hit base hits"

Padres starter Clay Hensley (1-2) earned his first win of the season, allowing two runs, 10 hits and three walks in six innings, striking out one.

"Clay did a good job tonight," Padres Manager Bud Black said. "He got us through six which is a great job here (at Coors Field). I did not see him throwing the ball tonight. I saw him pitching and I was very happy."

The righthander is 3-1 in his last six starts vs. the Rockies.

"I felt pretty good tonight," Hensley said. "My mechanics felt better. We've worked on it the past few weeks and I felt a lot smoother tonight. Good hitting on our end helps out too."

Leading, 2-1, in the top of the second inning, Jose Cruz Jr. hit an RBI single to center field, plating Rob Bowen to increase the lead by two.

Gonzalez led off the third with his fifth homer, belting the first pitch by Jeff Francis over the left field wall to put San Diego up, 4-1. Khalil Greene followed with an RBI single later in the frame for a 5-1 lead.

Francis (1-2) was tagged for six runs and 13 hits in six innings. The lefthander struck out four and walked two.

"It came down to execution," Francis said. "I wasn't putting the pitches where I needed to, and they were able to take advantage of some bad pitches."

Trailing, 7-3, after an RBI double by Garrett Atkins in the seventh, the Rockies loaded the bases later in the frame and again in the eighth inning, but failed to produce a run each time.

"We swung the bat well, just not in key situations," Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said. "It was one of those nights."

Colorado, which left 15 men on base, has lost four of five vs. San Diego.