SAN DIEGO -- A maddening series in which balls hit solidly and softly didn't often work for the Rockies when they needed them to turned on Corey Dickerson's soft seventh-inning leadoff double Thursday afternoon.The Rockies would touch Ian Kennedy -- who had given up just one hit over the previous six innings -- for three hits and three runs in the inning, and take a 3-1 victory over the Padres at Petco Park in front of 17,557 to earn a needed split of a four-game series. 
The victory, in which lefty Franklin Morales (1-1) held the Padres to one run in six solid innings, gave the Rockies a 3-4 record on their first National League West road trip. After Dickerson's double, the Rockies found their clutch-hitting form.In the two losses to the Padres (7-9), both close games, the Rockies (8-9) went a combined 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position. This time, after Dickerson's double and Troy Tulowitzki's walk, Justin Morneau doubled to right for one run, Wilin Rosario notched his fourth RBI of the series with a fielder's choice grounder for the go-ahead run, and Nolan Arenado added an RBI single.Morneau went 6-for-21 (.286) on the road trip, but four of the hits were for extra bases -- two home runs and two doubles.Before the seventh, Morales was the thread that kept the Rockies in the game.Morales won a starting rotation job out of Spring Training and was more hearty than efficient in his first two starts. He was briefly moved to the bullpen because of some good work by righty Jordan Lyles as a fill-in starter for the injured Tyler Chatwood. But lefty Brett Anderson's broken finger opened a new chance, which Morales grabbed.Xavier Nady's leadoff homer in the fourth on a hanging changeup was the only run off Morales, who held the Padres to four hits, struck out five and walked just one in six innings. He entered the game with six walks in his previous two starts.Because of his ability to command the strike zone, Morales dealt with just one runner in scoring position. Everth Cabrera doubled with two outs in the third and moved to third on Chris Denorfia's infield single. But Morales worked Jedd Gyorko into a harmless grounder to Arenado at third to end the inning.Kennedy finished with seven strikeouts. The first Rockies baserunner came on a Tulowitzki walk to open the fifth, but two batters later, Kennedy ended the inning by coaxing a Rosario double-play grounder. Arenado doubled off the third-base bag to lead off the sixth with the Rockies' first hit. The Rockies would grab conrol an inning later.Rockies lefty reliever Rex Brothers, who had earned losses in his last two appearances, struck out two in a perfect seventh. Boone Logan gave up a Chase Headley pinch-hit single in the eighth but forced Cabrera into a double-play grounder. LaTroy Hawkins earned his fourth save.Thomas Harding / MLB.com
The victory, in which lefty Franklin Morales (1-1) held the Padres to one run in six solid innings, gave the Rockies a 3-4 record on their first National League West road trip. After Dickerson's double, the Rockies found their clutch-hitting form.In the two losses to the Padres (7-9), both close games, the Rockies (8-9) went a combined 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position. This time, after Dickerson's double and Troy Tulowitzki's walk, Justin Morneau doubled to right for one run, Wilin Rosario notched his fourth RBI of the series with a fielder's choice grounder for the go-ahead run, and Nolan Arenado added an RBI single.Morneau went 6-for-21 (.286) on the road trip, but four of the hits were for extra bases -- two home runs and two doubles.Before the seventh, Morales was the thread that kept the Rockies in the game.Morales won a starting rotation job out of Spring Training and was more hearty than efficient in his first two starts. He was briefly moved to the bullpen because of some good work by righty Jordan Lyles as a fill-in starter for the injured Tyler Chatwood. But lefty Brett Anderson's broken finger opened a new chance, which Morales grabbed.Xavier Nady's leadoff homer in the fourth on a hanging changeup was the only run off Morales, who held the Padres to four hits, struck out five and walked just one in six innings. He entered the game with six walks in his previous two starts.Because of his ability to command the strike zone, Morales dealt with just one runner in scoring position. Everth Cabrera doubled with two outs in the third and moved to third on Chris Denorfia's infield single. But Morales worked Jedd Gyorko into a harmless grounder to Arenado at third to end the inning.Kennedy finished with seven strikeouts. The first Rockies baserunner came on a Tulowitzki walk to open the fifth, but two batters later, Kennedy ended the inning by coaxing a Rosario double-play grounder. Arenado doubled off the third-base bag to lead off the sixth with the Rockies' first hit. The Rockies would grab conrol an inning later.Rockies lefty reliever Rex Brothers, who had earned losses in his last two appearances, struck out two in a perfect seventh. Boone Logan gave up a Chase Headley pinch-hit single in the eighth but forced Cabrera into a double-play grounder. LaTroy Hawkins earned his fourth save.Thomas Harding / MLB.com
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