Bat taken out of Helton's hands

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Todd Helton tossed his bat aside and began a slow jog to first base, seemingly stunned that his late run at the NL batting title ended like this.

Helton was denied a last shot at his second batting title when he was intentionally walked by Rod Beck in the eighth inning of the Rockies' 10-8 win on Sunday, providing a controversial ending to the final baseball game at Qualcomm Stadium.

"Obviously, I wasn't too pleased with that last at-bat," Helton said. "I'm disappointed at the way it ended. Overall, it was a good year.

Helton went 2-for-4 to finish with a .35849 average, just behind St. Louis' Albert Pujols, who won the title at .35871. A hit would have given Helton a .35959 average.

The .00022 difference was the closest in NL history and the third-tightest in major league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

In 1945, the Yankees' Snuffy Stirnweiss beat Tony Cuccinello of the White Sox by .00009, and in 1949, Detroit's George Kell edged Boston's Ted Williams by .00016.

Previously, the closest NL race was a .00028 difference in 1931, when Chick Hafey of St. Louis beat Bill Terry of the New York Giants by .00028.

After getting two singles in his first four at-bats, Helton came to bat with two outs and a runner on second in the eighth, with the Rockies leading 10-7. After Beck went to a 3-0 count against Helton, catcher Gary Bennett signaled for an intentional walk.

Beck said he knew Helton and Pujols were in a tight race.

"I'm not out there to spoil anything," Beck said. "Two-and-oh, it's not a time to pitch to the hottest hitter in the league. So that's how we pitched to him. I'm trying to win the ballgame for us. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. He's going to win more batting titles."

Helton won the batting crown in 2000.

Padres manager Bruce Bochy, who had been ejected arguing a close call at first base in the bottom of the seventh, apologized to Helton behind the Rockies' dugout during the game.

"I feel terrible for him because that at-bat was the deciding factor in the batting race," Bochy said. "I was out of the game; the coaching staff didn't know. When it went 3-and-0, they were doing what you normally would do, to try and win a ballgame. Nobody on this side had any idea of the magnitude of that at-bat.

"There's no way we would have done that had we known the situation. It was a shame he didn't get another shot."

Bochy said he told Helton that neither he nor his coaching staff was getting updates as the close race unfolded between Helton and Pujols, whose St. Louis Cardinals were playing at Arizona at the same time.

The Padres had a final chance in the ninth, when Phil Nevin and Mark Kotsay opened with singles off Brian Fuentes. But Justin Speier came on and struck out the side, getting Gary Bennett swinging to end the game.

The Padres' final record at Qualcomm -- which also was known as San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium -- was 1,366-1,401.

After playing in the big concrete bowl in the middle of Mission Valley for 35 seasons, the Padres are moving next spring to downtown's 42,000-seat Petco Park, two blocks from the waterfront.

Javier Lopez (4-1) pitched a perfect sixth for the win and Speier got his ninth save in 12 chances.

The game featured six homers, four by Colorado. The Rockies homered three times in the seventh, including Jay Payton's three-run shot that gave Colorado an 8-5 lead.

Xavier Nady hit a two-run homer in the seventh to pull the Padres to 8-7, but Chris Stynes had a two-run single in the eighth to give the Rockies a 10-7 lead, just ahead of Helton's final plate appearance. San Diego's Mark Loretta hit a solo homer with two outs in the bottom half.

With the Padres trailing 10-8, closer Trevor Hoffman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out his last two batters. Hoffman, fifth on the career saves list with 352, missed the first five months of the season after two offseason shoulder surgeries.

Padres starter Jake Peavy left with a 5-3 lead after six, but reliever Jay Witasick (3-7) promptly allowed the Rockies to tie it on solo homers by Charles Johnson -- his 20th, deep into the left-field seats -- and by pinch-hitter Greg Norton. Payton hit his 28th homer to right off Scott Linebrink for an 8-5 lead.

Phil Nevin went 4-for-4 for the Padres, who scored three runs in the fifth inning to chase starter Darren Oliver (13-12) and take a 5-2 lead.

Juan Uribe's two-run homer deep into the seats in left field off Peavy highlighted a three-run second inning that gave the Rockies a 3-1 lead. It was Uribe's 10th. ^Notes:@ During a post-game ceremony, home plate was dug up and put aboard a Marine Corps Humvee, which, escorted by two motorcycle policemen, drove it to Petco Park. There, Mayor Dick Murphy handed it over to construction workers. ... In one of the most touching moments of the ceremony, Padres players Phil Nevin and Gary Matthews Jr. carried 7-year-old Michael Darr Jr. on their shoulders out to right field. Darr's father, a Padres outfielder, was killed in a car crash in Arizona the day spring training opened in 2002. ... Tony Gwynn's daughter, Anisha, sang the national anthem. ... Colorado's Preston Wilson wasn't in the lineup after dislocating his right pinkie on Saturday night.