DENVER, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Troy Tulowitzki smashed a pair of three-run homers Wednesday and the Colorado Rockies hung on to defeat San Diego 9-6 in a National League West showdown.
Tulowitzki drove in seven runs and went 3-for-5. His first homer came in the third inning and put the Rockies up 5-1. His second blast in the next frame extended their lead to 9-1.
The victory allowed the Rockies to salvage one victory in the three-game series between the NL West contenders. Third-place Colorado pulled to within 2 1/2 games of first-place San Diego and the Rockies also whittled their NL wild-card deficit to two games behind Atlanta.
The Rockies had to weather a San Diego comeback as the Padres scored four runs late in the game.
Jorge De La Rosa (8-4) picked up victory, yielding five runs on six hits over 7 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out seven.
Padres starter Clayton Richard (12-8) was blasted for eight runs on 11 hits in three innings of work.
