Rockies-Padres series looms large

Watching the Rockies’ 4-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds last night wasn’t as suspenseful as anticipated given the circumstances; the Reds had taken the lead late, only to surrender it to Seth Smith, who singled with the bases loaded in the ninth. After all, the Rocks absolutely own the Reds this season, and they’ve been playing so well that Smith’s heroics were almost expected. More unanticipated was the assist provided by the San Francisco Giants, who lost two of three at home to the out-of-the-running San Diego Padres; yesterday’s 4-2 Padres victory was fueled by slugger Adrian Gonzalez’s 37th home run and three RBIs. Suddenly, the Rockies have a four-game cushion between them and the Giants in the wild card chase.

Of course, what the Padres giveth, they’ll have a chance to take away this weekend, when the Rockies begin a three-game series in SD, followed immediately by another trio of contests in the Bay Area. With the Padres suddenly getting hot, Colorado really needs to go at least 2-1 against Gonzalez and company, so as not to give the Giants a chance to entirely erase another lead next week in their home ballpark. Praise the Padres today; curse them tomorrow.