SAN DIEGO und in the National League West race Friday night despite a second straight loss to the cellar-dwelling Padres.But they did lose a position in the three-way National League West race. And climbing over two teams to get back to first can be more difficult than making up the deficit now that the Rockies are 1 1/2 games out of the National League West lead.However Victor Martinez Jersey , the first order of business is getting a win against the Padres, who crushed the Rockies 7-0 Friday night after scoring a 3-2, 13-inning walk-off win in Thursday’s opener of the four-game series at Petco Park.Article continues below ...The Rockies go into Saturday night’s game in San Diego having lost four of their last five games to tumble from a tie for first to third place in the division. They are looking up at first-place Arizona and the Dodgers in the standings — and the set at San Diego might be remembered as a pivotal series for the Rockies unless they battle back for a split.And while the Dodgers and Diamondbacks both already have double-digit wins against the Padres with a series remaining, the Rockies are only 9-8 against a team that was on pace to lose 100 games before their current four-game winning streak started Tuesday.The Rockies will be sending right-hander Jon Gray (10-7, 4.67 ERA) to the mound Saturday night in a pairing against Padres’ left-hander Robbie Erlin (3-4, 3.69). Erlin happens to be the only non-rookie in the Padres rotation at the moment.Gray had a no-decision last Monday in Colorado’s 10-7, interleague loss to the Angels in Anaheim. He gave up five runs and seven hits over six innings in that game.That broke a streak of nine straight wins by the Rockies in games started by Gray dating back to June 22. Gray was 4-0 with a 3.02 ERA in those starts. The Rockies have also won four of five starts since Gray returned from Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 5.Gray has had success against the Padres. He is 7-3 with a 2.67 ERA in 14 career starts against the Padres, and Gray is 3-1 this season against the Padres with a 3.33 ERA in four starts. Gray is 3-2 with a 2.57 ERA in six career starts at Petco Park http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , giving up 10 earned runs in 35 innings.Gray has pitched better in the rarified air of Coors Field this season than he has on the road. He is 6-3 at home with a 4.56 ERA in 12 starts with an opponents’ batting average of .263. On the road he is 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 13 starts.Erlin will be making his 35th appearance of the season and his eighth start. He is 2-1 with a 4.21 ERA since returning to the rotation on Aug. 2.Erlin has already made six appearances against the Rockies this season, but only one start. That start came on Aug. 21 at Coors Field when he held Colorado to three runs on five hits and no walks with six strikeouts over five innings to get the win.Overall, Erlin is 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA against the Rockies this season, and he is 4-2 with 6.06 ERA in 12 career appearances (five starts) against them. In O’s news: Givens is our only good player, Wilkerson hopes to break through and laughing about Manny."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Commentary & AnalysisOrioles ProspectsOrioles Game RecapsOrioles News and RumorsCamdencastBird DroppingsSaturday’s Bird Droppings: Where Baltimore is going runningNew,60commentsIn O’s news: Givens is our only good player, Wilkerson hopes to break through and laughing about Manny.right now. Maybe that’s true. I agree with the Dubroff’s take that Jonathan Villar is good enough as well. The rest of the roster is young and unproven or old and deeply flawed.Do you think new O’s executive will have final say on baseball decisions? - The AthleticIf the Orioles are going to get a person widely respected in the game, like Kim Ng or Ben Cherington James McCann Jersey , then that will mean the Angelos family has to relinquish significant control in the baseball department. However, that could still mean there are well-defined boundaries to which the new person must adhere. Manny Machado Denies Playing Dirty After Late Slide Into Pitcher’s Mound - The OnionThe Onion has done it again. Orioles birthdays and historyIs it your birthday? Happy Birthday! Infielder Bobby Floyd is turning 75 years old today. He played in 47 games for the Orioles across three seasons, 1968-1970. His .189/.233/.242 batting line explains why he never became a regular starter. Over 463 career MLB plate appearances, Floyd never hit a home run.There’s apparently no significant historical events in O’s history on this day, according to Baseball Reference. So, here are some important happenings from elsewhere in the world on October 20.1802 - The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase, an acquisition of 828,000 square miles from France. The land gained by the U.S. includes all or part of 14 current U.S. states1873 - The first rules of American football are draft by Yale http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey , Princeton, Columbia and Rutgers universities1973 - U.S. President Richard Nixon fires Attorney General Elliott Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus after both refuse to fire Archibald Cox, a special prosecutor assigned to investigate the Watergate scandal. Robert Bork, the Solicitor General, does fire Cox. This comes to be known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.”1977 - A plane carrying rock band Lynard Skynard crashes after running out of gas. Lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines die in the crash along with three members of the crew and both the pilot and co-pilot of the plane.