SAN DIEGO — The Colorado Rockies did not lose any ground

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in the National League West race Friday night despite a second straight loss to the cellar-dwelling Padres.But they did lose a position in the three-way National League West race. And climbing over two teams to get back to first can be more difficult than making up the deficit now that the Rockies are 1 1/2 games out of the National League West lead.However http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authen ... cia-jersey , the first order of business is getting a win against the Padres, who crushed the Rockies 7-0 Friday night after scoring a 3-2, 13-inning walk-off win in Thursday’s opener of the four-game series at Petco Park.Article continues below ...The Rockies go into Saturday night’s game in San Diego having lost four of their last five games to tumble from a tie for first to third place in the division. They are looking up at first-place Arizona and the Dodgers in the standings — and the set at San Diego might be remembered as a pivotal series for the Rockies unless they battle back for a split.And while the Dodgers and Diamondbacks both already have double-digit wins against the Padres with a series remaining, the Rockies are only 9-8 against a team that was on pace to lose 100 games before their current four-game winning streak started Tuesday.The Rockies will be sending right-hander Jon Gray (10-7, 4.67 ERA) to the mound Saturday night in a pairing against Padres’ left-hander Robbie Erlin (3-4, 3.69). Erlin happens to be the only non-rookie in the Padres rotation at the moment.Gray had a no-decision last Monday in Colorado’s 10-7, interleague loss to the Angels in Anaheim. He gave up five runs and seven hits over six innings in that game.That broke a streak of nine straight wins by the Rockies in games started by Gray dating back to June 22. Gray was 4-0 with a 3.02 ERA in those starts. The Rockies have also won four of five starts since Gray returned from Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 5.Gray has had success against the Padres. He is 7-3 with a 2.67 ERA in 14 career starts against the Padres, and Gray is 3-1 this season against the Padres with a 3.33 ERA in four starts. Gray is 3-2 with a 2.57 ERA in six career starts at Petco Park Travis Shaw Jersey , giving up 10 earned runs in 35 innings.Gray has pitched better in the rarified air of Coors Field this season than he has on the road. He is 6-3 at home with a 4.56 ERA in 12 starts with an opponents’ batting average of .263. On the road he is 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 13 starts.Erlin will be making his 35th appearance of the season and his eighth start. He is 2-1 with a 4.21 ERA since returning to the rotation on Aug. 2.Erlin has already made six appearances against the Rockies this season, but only one start. That start came on Aug. 21 at Coors Field when he held Colorado to three runs on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts over five innings to get the win.Overall, Erlin is 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA against the Rockies this season, and he is 4-2 with 6.06 ERA in 12 career appearances (five starts) against them. MIAMI (AP) — The Yankees slugger choked up.Giancarlo Stanton acknowledged being touched by the warm reception he received the first time he stepped to the plate Tuesday at Marlins Park.He saluted the crowd, waved and patted his chest as he looked to the stands. He then singled sharply to left field.“It’s a lot to take in,” Stanton said. “A lot of things go into this — where I’m at now. I grew up over there.”Over there is the Marlins clubhouse, where Stanton spent his first eight major league seasons before being traded last November. That made the Yankees’ two-game series in Miami his homecoming.Stanton went 2 for 6, missing his 300th career home run by a few feet when he doubled in the fifth http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authen ... cia-jersey , and the Yankees won 2-1 in 12 innings.Before the game, he sat in the visitors’ dugout before batting practice, which gave him a different angle of Marlins Park’s kitschy, colossal home sculpture.“I still don’t like it,” he said with a laugh. “But it won’t be going off if I hit one.”Stanton activated the moveable sculpture more than any other player before leaving the Marlins. Speaking of himself in the plural, he said it was weird but good to be back, and said he harbored no hard feelings about the way his time with the Marlins ended after eight seasons.“We know what the situation is over there now, and how it was Robin Yount Jersey ,” he said. “We understand.”The situation is that former Yankees shortstop and new Marlins CEO Derek Jeter rebooted the woebegone Miami franchise, trading away several big contracts for prospects with the goal of becoming competitive in a few years. Stanton, coming off a 59-homer MVP season, wanted no part of a rebuilding project and approved a trade to the Yanks.Now he’s likely to make the playoffs for the first time, while the Marlins are headed for a ninth consecutive losing season.“I hope they’ll figure it out,” Stanton said. “I hope they get it turned around. It will take a couple of years. But if the pieces are put together right, I think they’ll turn it around.”Jeter didn’t talk with the media before the series opener. But Marlins manager Don Mattingly acknowledged it has been different without Stanton — and without Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authen ... cia-jersey , who were also traded.“You miss all those guys,” Mattingly said. “Some good players went out the door as we embarked on building this thing to the level we wanted and trying to build some continuity and sustainability. You knew you were going to miss all those guys.”Stanton began the week batting .285 with 32 homers and 80 RBIs — stats comparable to his time in Miami.He reminisced about hitting at Marlins Park when it was still a construction site before opening in 2012. He said he’ll do no sightseeing during his brief stay in Miami, but will spend time with former teammates and friends.He has many in Miami, as the ovation in the first inning showed.“That was really cool — definitely more than I could ask for,” Stanton said. “That’s going to be one of the more special moments of my career.”