SAN DIEGO - The Colorado Rockies got another unexpected outing from a starting pitcher who had been relegated to the bullpen. Dan Hampton Bears Jersey . Franklin Morales followed a good start by Jorge De La Rosa with one of his own, helping the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 Thursday. Colorado used Wilin Rosarios tiebreaking groundout in a three-run seventh to overcome Ian Kennedy, who pitched a one-hit shutout through the sixth. Morales (1-1) allowed one run and four hits in six innings with five strikeouts and a walk. Morales made his second career start against the Padres — and first since allowing one hit in six shutout innings at San Diego on Sept. 21, 2007. "That was crucial for him to get through the sixth," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "He stepped up. Its tough to go back and forth between the pen and starting." Injuries to Tyler Chatwood and Brett Anderson, have forced the Rockies to start Morales and De La Rosa, who both were sent to the bullpen earlier after ineffective starts. De La Rosa was the loser in Wednesday nights 4-2 defeat, but threw well; he allowed three runs — two earned — and seven hits in six innings. "I have a job to do," Morales said. "I dont worry about where I pitch. I just want to do whatever I can to help my team win." Morales allowed a solo homer to Xavier Nady leading off the fourth, a drive off the facing of the second deck in left field. That stood until the seventh. Corey Dickerson reached on a one-out double, Troy Tulowitzki walked and Justin Morneau lined a ball to right field. Chris Denorfia broke in, then retreated as the ball went his head for an RBI double. "Morneau hit that ball pretty hard and they got a couple guys on," Kennedy said. "I was trying to get a double play in that situation." Rosario grounded out to shortstop as Tulowitzki scored for a 2-1 lead, and Nolan Arenado followed with a run-scoring single. "Kennedy was tough, pounding the ball down, hitting the corners," Morneau said. "But when he made mistakes, we took advantage, and we had some good at-bats in the seventh." LaTroy Hawkins pitched the ninth to remain perfect in four save chances, finishing just the fourth win for the Rockies in 11 road games this season. Kennedy retired his first 12 batters before walking Tulowitzki leading off the fifth. He didnt allow a hit until Arenados leadoff double in the sixth. "Its tough. I threw well for the first six innings," Kennedy said. "I felt like I was executing my pitches. I was getting ahead of guys and when I didnt start off with strike one I felt like I was getting back to even in the count and it was just nice to execute like that." NOTES: Nadys homer was his third of the season and San Diegos eighth, the lowest total in the NL. ... San Diegos Everth Cabrera extended his hitting streak to nine games with a second-inning double. ... Padres 3B Chase Headley was held out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game with a strained right biceps. Headley had a pinch-single in the eighth. ... Rockies RF Michael Cuddyer left in the seventh with a right hamstring cramp. ... Longtime Rockies 1B Todd Helton is scheduled to be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Thursday night at Sports Authority Field in Denver. ... Padres 1B Yonder Alonso entered in the ninth inning and played third base for the third time in his big league career. ... Anderson had surgery on Thursday to have pins inserted into his fractured left index finger. The pins are expected to remain for six weeks. ... The Rockies open a three-game set at home Friday night against Philadelphia, which sends RHP Jonathan Pettibone (0-0) against RHP Tyler Chatwood (0-0). ... Giants RHP Matt Cain (0-2) opposes Padres RHP Tyson Ross (1-2) on Friday night. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Jersey . -- For one night, Nick Calathes provided a big reason to believe the Memphis Grizzlies might be able to withstand the loss of Mike Conley on a short-term basis. Tom Waddle Youth Jersey . After falling 5-0 on home ice in a game that could have tied them for second in the wild card standings, Washington head coach Adam Oates had some strong words for Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- No quarterback controversy here. Braxton Miller is back and there is no question who will be leading Ohio State as it tries to get back to the top of the Big Ten. Miller matched a career-high with four touchdown passes in his first game in three weeks and No. 4 Ohio State ran the nations longest winning streak to 17 games with a 31-24 victory over No. 23 Wisconsin on Saturday night. Miller missed the last two games with a sprained left knee, but didnt show the slightest bit of rust. The junior threw three touchdown passes in the first half, including a 40-yarder to Corey Brown with 1 second left that put Ohio State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) up 24-14. "Ive been working really hard this last couple weeks because Ive been hurt, fundamental-wise. Thats how I get things going," Miller said. "I felt pretty good. My leg felt good, energy-wise. I wasnt out of shape." Joel Stave and Jared Abbrederis kept the Badgers (3-2, 1-1) in it. Stave threw for 295 yards and two TDs. Abbrederis caught 10 passes for a career-best 207 yards and a score, winning most of his one-on-one matchups with star cornerback Bradley Roby. James White ran 17 yards for a touchdown with 13:47 left in the fourth quarter to cut Ohio States lead to 31-21. "It was a game of swings, a game of big plays," said first-year Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen, who worked under Ohio State coach Urban Meyer at Utah. Wisconsin got within 31-24 on a 42-yard field goal by Kyle French with 2:05 left in the fourth, and got the ball back at its own 10 with 1:29 left but Ohio State didnt even give up a first down. The Buckeyes first big game of the season lured Ohio native LeBron James to the Horseshoe and turned Ohio Stadium into the most-scarlet place on earth. Just about everyone in the crowd of 105,826 -- third-largest in Ohio State history -- was donning the Buckeyes shade of red. The Buckeyes had been off the radar for the first four weeks, beating up on overmatched foes and dropping a couple of spots in the Top 25. The only news from Columbus was Millers injury early in the second game of the season, though the Buckeyes didnt miss a beat without him. Kenny Guiton stepped in and won consecutive Big Ten offensive player of the week honours. Guiton was so good some Buckeyes fans wondered aloud whether he should keep playing even if Miller was ready to play. Miller said he wasnt paying any attention. "Im proud of Kenny, the way he stepped in," said Miller, who passed for 198 yards and ran for 83. "I look at him as a big brother.&" And Meyer said there was never a question Miller would start if he could. Riley Ridley Jersey. "No, not if hes healthy," Meyer said. On Ohio States first series, Miller fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Evan Spencer. Stave matched Miller, carrying the Badgers offence. He was never better than when he hit Abbrederis with a perfectly thrown deep ball for a 36-yard score to make it 7-7. "No. 4, hes got my vote for All-Big Ten," Meyer said of Abbrederis. Miller hooked up with Devin Smith for a 26-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7 with 44 seconds left in the first quarter. Stave found Sam Arneson for an 11-yard touchdown to cut the Ohio State lead to 17-14 with 1:30 left in the half. Too much time. Miller drove the Buckeyes to the 40 and underthrew a deep pass on third-and-7 that hit Wisconsin cornerback Sojourn Shelton in the hands, but the freshman dropped the interception. "Man, it slipped out of my hand," Miller said. "I told Coach lets do it again and made up for it the next throw." Brown got behind the Wisconsin secondary by a step and Miller threw a dart that hit his receiver in the chest for a 40-yard touchdown with a second left in the half. "Its basically a play that shouldnt happen," Wisconsin safety Dezmen Southward said. "There was no miscommunication. It was just a bad play." Miller gave the touchdown signal, a couple of claps and a clumsy hip bump with a teammate. Ohio State went to the locker room up 24-14 on the three-time defending Big Ten champions. Meyer called the Badgers the kings of the Big Ten this week, ignoring the fact that Ohio State beat Wisconsin during its undefeated season last year. Because Ohio State was NCAA-banned from post-season, Wisconsin went to the Big Ten title game from the Leaders division. It was a not so subtle message to the Buckeyes from Meyer, who has never met a motivational ploy he didnt try to exploit. The Buckeyes took a big step toward taking that crown from the Badgers, though they lost starting safety Christian Bryant to a broken ankle, Meyer said. Melvin Gordon, the nations leading rusher, was held under 100 yards for the first time this season for Wisconsin. He had 74 yards on 15 carries before limping off with an apparent leg injury early in the fourth quarter. Andersen said he thought Gordon would be OK. Roby had a rough day overall, but his interception of an errant pass by Stave in the third quarter set up Millers 1-yard TD pass to Brown with 2:18 left in the third quarter to make it 31-14. ' ' '
