Clayton Richard is no Clayton Kershaw. The San Diego Padres starter reminded people of that fact on Wednesday afternoon. The Colorado Rockies have a formidable offense, especially in the comfortable caverns of Coors Field. The team used that to their advantage to absolutely crush the visiting starter. It wouldn't be shocking if Richard shed a tear or two following one of the worst starts of his entire career.
Richard toils through the long day
For Richard, the excitement of the day was ruined after just three pitches. That's how long it took for Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon to lace a single to left field.
After a walk, Nolan Arenado singled to put Colorado on the board without a single out recorded. A passed ball would bring home the second run before Richard finally induced a ground out. By the end of the first inning, San Diego trailed 3-0.
Things didn't get much worse in the second inning. Only one run made it across, again due to an Arenado single. Richard stayed in for the third inning as well and gave up another two runs on a triple and single, granting the Rockies a 6-0 lead after just three innings.
The wheels really fell off in the fourth inning, though. Arenado led off the frame with a home run, continuing the damage he had been causing all afternoon. After a strikeout and a ground out, it appeared Arenado's homer would be the extent of the damage.
But then Trevor Story hit a two-run blast to left field. A ground rule double and a single plated the tenth run of the game for the Rockies and ushered the end of the day for Richard. He left the game to Kevin Quackenbush with his team trailing 10-0 and an ugly 11 earned runs and 14 hits in just 3.2 innings; it was his tenth loss of the season.
Rockies win...obviously
Quackenbush surrendered a two-run homer immediately, with one of the runs being charged to Richard. After four innings, the Padres trailed 12-0 to Colorado; they weren't destined to overcome that, losing 18-4.
Arenado went on to mash three homers on the afternoon, a day when the Rockies set a new season-high with 21 hits.
Jon Gray pitched five scoreless innings before struggling in the sixth, when the game was already well out of reach for San Diego. The victory temporarily moved Colorado into a tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the top spot in the National League Wild Card race. The Padres are well out of the playoff race, so the loss doesn't affect them too badly.
