Hits Keep Coming for Gwynn, Walker

Tony Gwynn went over the .400 mark and extended his hitting streak to 17 games, going three for five with two runs batted in as the San Diego Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies, 11-7, on Saturday.

Gwynn singled twice, doubled and walked as San Diego won for the second time in six games. He is hitting .4017, only .0001 behind Colorado’s Larry Walker for the major league lead.

Joey Hamilton (7-3) pitched 7 1/3 innings for his third consecutive victory, giving up all seven runs and 13 hits. Trevor Hoffman got the final three outs for his 17th save.

Steve Finley hit a two-run homer for the Padres, and Ken Caminiti and Quilvio Veras each had two RBIs.

Walker also was three for five to raise his average to .4018. Dante Bichette was four for five with a homer and two RBIs for the Rockies, who had ended a seven-game losing streak Friday night with a 6-5 victory in 11 innings.

“I talked to Tony and we agree it is frustrating as heck for us because we get our hits, but our teams are well down in the division,” Walker said. “In my case, I get my average back over .400, but come back into the clubhouse thinking who gives a darn. We had another game where scored runs, but not enough of them.”

The Padres scored four runs in the first inning. Quinton McCracken dropped a fly ball by Quilvio Veras to lead off the game, and Steve Finley hit his 17th homer.

Gwynn singled and Caminiti doubled before Bill Swift retired a batter. Gwynn scored on Wally Joyner’s groundout and Caminiti scored on Greg Vaughn’s single.

Two-out doubles by Craig Shipley and Carlos Hernandez extended San Diego’s lead to 6-0 in the third inning.

Swift (4-2) lasted only three innings in his first start since leaving a May 12 game at Philadelphia because of strained chest muscle. He yielded eight hits and six runs.

The Padres added two runs in the fourth against Mike DeJean. Gwynn had an RBI double and Joyner had a run-scoring single with two outs. In the fifth, Veras had a two-run double and Gwynn an RBI single to make it 11-0.