Padres honor Solarte's late wife during loss to Rockies
DENVER (AP) -- Adam Rosales knew the ball was going out, and he knew how to celebrate the home run -- with a tribute to his mourning teammate.
Rosales' homer in the second inning was a small highlight in an otherwise tough day for San Diego. The Padres played with heavy hearts a day after Yangervis Solarte lost his wife, Yuliett, to cancer.
The 6-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday was the least of their worries.
"Everybody's heart breaks for him right now," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He's had infectious energy all year long, and when you can consider the circumstances of his life, it's hard to fathom. So from our perspective, `Hey, whenever you want to be back, you can come back. If you don't want to be back in the last two weeks, you don't have to be back.'
"But we'll continue to talk to him, offer our love and support, anything we can possibly do for his family from a logistics perspective."
Rosales paid tribute to his teammate with a jump and a clap at home plate after his homer, mimicking Solarte's home run celebration.
"We talked about it before the game today. If somebody hit a home run, we'd do the alligator arm for Solarte," Rosales said. "It was just a tribute. I feel like it would mean a lot to Solarte to know how much he means to us, how much his family means to the San Diego Padres."
Before the game, the Rockies held a moment of silence for Yuliett.
"I'm sure it was a tough day for them to play," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "You lose a family member, I'm sure there are a lot of heavy hearts over there. It certainly puts things in perspective."
Mark Reynolds homered for the Rockies before breaking a bone in his left hand on a pitch in the fifth inning. Tony Wolters had three hits and Chad Bettis pitched into the sixth for the Rockies, who swept the Padres.
Bettis (13-7) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He won for the third time in his last four starts and helped himself with two walks and an RBI.
Adam Ottavino pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Padres starter Jarred Cosart (0-4) ran into trouble in the fourth when the Rockies took control. Reynolds hit a two-run homer and the Rockies loaded the bases with a single and two walks.
Jose Dominguez walked in another run before giving up a two-run single to Carlos Gonzalez to make it 5-1.
Cosart's last turn in the rotation was skipped after he left his start on Sept. 7 because of a strained right groin and hamstring.
"It's good to be back out there," Cosart said. "Obviously, taking a turn through was rough watching, but everything felt pretty good for the first time back."
Wil Myers' double in the sixth cut the lead to 6-3 after Bettis' bases-loaded walk gave Colorado a five-run cushion.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: C Derek Norris didn't start because of a jammed finger but was available off the bench.
UP NEXT
Padres: LHP Clayton Richard (2-2, 1.51 ERA) makes his seventh start for San Diego when the Padres open a three-game home series with Arizona.
