Rockies 4, Padres 2

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Todd Helton had a ho-hum reaction to hitting a 450-foot home run in his first plate appearance of the spring following offseason back surgery.

"It's just one at-bat," the Rockies first baseman said. "Don't get me wrong, it is a lot better than a groundout to second base."

Helton hit Chris Young's 2-1 pitch in the first inning over a 35-foot wall in center field, leading Colorado to a 4-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

Helton, who played only two games after July 4 due to severe back pain, received a standing ovation from a crowd of 4,927 as he ran around the bases at Hi Corbett Field after his two-run shot.

"He left it over the middle of the plate and I did what I was supposed to do with it," said Helton, a .328 career hitter.

Young gave up four runs, three earned, and five hits in two innings in his third start of the spring.

"I felt good. That is the most important part," Young said. "It is spring training and I still have a lot of work to do. I got my pitch count up. I pitched from the stretch a lot, which was something different than I did in my first two outings."

San Diego's Matt Antonelli went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Chris Burke also had two hits.

Helton, who went 1-for-2 and left after the third inning, hit .264 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in just 83 games last season.

Game notes
Rockies 3B Garrett Atkins went 2-for-2 after missing the last two games with a strained right hip flexor. ... Greg Reynolds, subbing for Greg Smith (flulike symptoms), allowed five hits in four scoreless innings for Colorado.