Chatwood goes 4 innings as Rockies tie Padres 5-all

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) Tyler Chatwood settled down after a poor start to throw four effective innings and Brandon Barnes went 3 for 3 for the Colorado Rockies in a 5-all, nine-inning tie with the San Diego Padres on Saturday.

Chatwood, coming back from his second Tommy John surgery, allowed a walk and Jemile Weeks' two-run homer to the first two batters. The right-hander didn't allow another run, giving up three hits and striking out two as he looks to claim a rotation spot.

''This is my first time going four innings since I had gotten hurt,'' said Chatwood, who pitched in instructional and winter ball. ''It's an exciting day.''

Barnes, who is on the roster bubble, tripled and had two run-scoring singles off Padres starter Colin Rea. Gerardo Parra and Ben Paulsen each had two hits in Colorado's third straight tie.

Rea, a rotation candidate, allowed five runs and nine hits over five innings.

Weeks was sharp at shortstop and is hitting .444 as he aims for a roster spot. He hasn't played a full big league season since 2012 with Oakland.

STARTING TIME

Rockies: Chatwood has a 3.27 ERA in four appearances. He last pitched in a major league game in April 2014.

''The biggest thing was I felt like I got better as I went on, which is a big sign,'' Chatwood said. ''The second time through the lineup I felt sharper.''

Padres: Rea walked Charlie Blackmon to start the game, his team-high sixth walk. But he didn't issue another and struck out five.

''I thought he was better than his results indicate,'' Padres manager Andy Green said.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: LHP Boone Logan (elbow) gave up a hit, a run and threw two wild pitches while getting two outs in his spring debut. Logan is scheduled to pitch again Sunday. .. OF Alex Castellanos broke his left hand after getting hit by a pitch a day earlier against the Angels. He was in minor league camp.

Padres: A day after giving up 10 runs while getting four outs, RHP Brandon Maurer was sent home with an illness.

KEMP & MCGWIRE

New Padres bench coach Mark McGwire returned this week after dealing with a family issue. He immediately noticed Matt Kemp needed to finish his swing higher.

Kemp has since hit his first two homers of the spring.

''It keeps my bat through the zone a lot longer,'' Kemp said.

McGwire was Kemp's hitting coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014.

''Guys that are familiar with you, especially as much time as we've spent together, he can look for things,'' Kemp said. ''(Hitting coach Alan Zinter) is new, so he's still trying to figure out my swing. But I've been with Mark for a while.''

ROCKIES PITCHERS

Whether Colorado has success often comes down to starting pitching.

So far, so good, according to GM Jeff Bridich.

''You can't go crazy one way or another, but they've been competitive,'' Bridich said. ''It's been fun to watch.''

GREEN'S MUSINGS

Green said it's ''highly unlikely'' they'll carry three catchers on the 25-man roster. San Diego has options with Derek Norris, Austin Hedges and Christian Bethancourt. ... Green jokingly called the Rockies ''cheaters'' for using a DH while he had the pitcher hit. ''Frankly, the win-loss doesn't matter,'' he said.

UP NEXT

Rockies: LHP Jorge De La Rosa starts Sunday against San Francisco.

Padres: LHP Robbie Erlin starts Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. RHP Tyson Ross will throw in a minor league game to avoid facing his opening day opponent.