Young wins on road again as Padres clip Rockies

DENVER (AP) -- It's been so long since Chris Young lost on the road, he can't remember when the last time was. One thing he's sure about, the streak could have easily ended in Colorado on Saturday night.

Mike Cameron responded to a much-needed day off with a two-run triple and Young scraped through five innings to stretch his road unbeaten streak to 19 games, lifting the San Diego Padres over the Rockies 4-2.

Elias Says
Young Chris Young was the winning pitcher for San Diego in Colorado on Saturday night. Young is now 8-0 with 11 no-decisions in his last 19 starts on the road. The last major league pitcher to go undefeated in at least 19 straight road starts was Greg Maddux. Maddux went 22 consecutive road starts without a loss spanning the 1997 and 1998 seasons. • For more Elias Says, click here

"Tonight I think was lot of luck -- hard-hit balls right at guys, the defense making some great plays," said Young, who hasn't lost since June 20, 2005, against the Los Angeles Angels, while pitching for Texas. "It just happened to be one of those nights where I wasn't very sharp, didn't think I pitched that great, but luck was on my side."

Young (9-4) didn't have the overpowering stuff he used to hold the Rockies to five runs in 20 1/3 innings the previous three starts, but it was good enough to keep him undefeated (5-0) in 10 road starts this season.

The big right-hander gave up two hits in the first inning, a run in the fourth on Brad Hawpe's RBI single and worked out of a jam in the fifth thanks to right fielder Brian Giles snaring Garrett Atkins' liner and doubling off Clint Barmes at first.

Young also started a double play in the second inning, when he snared Choo Freeman's liner and caught Yorvit Torrealba off first. He was lifted after Matt Holliday walked to lead off the sixth, giving up one run and seven hits.

"He kept us in the ballgame, gave us a chance to win," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "It's important to get a good start, especially here. He did that and he got us where we could use the guys in the bullpen."

Colorado got a rare shaky outing from Jeff Francis (8-9) and didn't give him much help. The Rockies had 11 hits, but left nine on and hit into three double plays. Two of the double plays were inning-enders, including one in the sixth, when Alan Embree got Hawpe to ground out to first and Jamey Carroll was thrown out at the plate trying to score from third.

"We rolled the dice in the fifth and Atkins lined out, then Hawpe wasn't able to convert the one time," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said after Colorado's 11th loss in 16 games since the All-Star break. "Other guys had chances with some two-out hits. We just couldn't get that big hit."

Young got plenty of help.

Khalil Greene hit his 15th homer, Eric Young his third and Trevor Hoffman worked for the ninth for his 28th save in 32 chances. But the biggest blow came from Cameron.

The center fielder went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts to start the series against Colorado on Thursday, so Bochy decided to give him Friday off. After popping out to first in the first inning and walking in the fourth, Cameron put the NL West-leading Padres up 3-1 with a two-run triple to center in the fifth.

"He needed it -- there was no question he was running on empty," Bochy said of Cameron's day off. "We played in some hot weather in San Francisco and L.A., we had extra innings, he bruised his knee in L.A. Looking back, I probably should have given him the first day off here."

Francis' troubles started after plate umpire Rick Reed experienced flulike symptoms and had to leave the game at the end of the fourth inning.

The Rockies went up 1-0 in the fourth and had just started taking the field defensively when Reed walked through a door behind home plate and headed down a tunnel beneath the stadium. The Rockies were called back to the dugout and the game was delayed 11 minutes while second base umpire Ted Barrett strapped on the gear and took Reed's place.

After giving up his first hit the previous inning -- a one-out single by Mike Piazza -- Francis allowed the two-run triple by Cameron in the fifth, set up by Atkins' fielding error at third on a grounder by Mark Bellhorn and Eric Young's two-out walk.

Greene then hit a solo homer to center on the first pitch he saw from the left-hander in the sixth and Eric Young made it 4-1 with a solo shot to left in the seventh.

Francis lasted six innings, giving up four runs -- two earned -- and five hits. He also walked four, matching his total in four previous July starts.

"He wasn't as sharp as he's been in other outings," Hurdle said. "Still, he gave up two earned runs."

Game notes
Cameron's triple ended an 0-for-22 slump against the Rockies. ... A three-man crew worked the game after Reed went out, with Tim Tschida at first and Laz Diaz at third. Reed was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. ... Colorado's Todd Helton had a double off Scott Linebrink in the eighth inning, his first extra-base hit in 11 games.