DENVER (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs and right-hander Derek Lowe handcuffed the Colorado Rockies over 6 1-3 innings in the Atlanta Braves‘ 7-4 win Monday night.

Lowe must have felt right at home in the unusually warm night in Colorado, and the sunshine actually helped him beat the Rockies for the second time in two weeks.

Lowe’s ground ball to third base in the second inning resulted in a two-run error on first baseman Todd Helton, who lost the throw in the setting sun, and ignited the Braves’ fifth win in five tries over the Rockies this month.

Lowe (6-7) gave up four runs and eight hits over 6 1-3 solid innings on a 92-degree night, finally fading in the seventh when he left with a 7-2 lead and watched his bullpen allow two more runs.

Rookie Craig Kimbrel recorded his 16th straight scoreless appearance, striking out the side in the ninth for his 29th save in 34 chances.

Jason Hammel (5-9) appeared to get out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam when he induced a routine ground ball from Lowe with two outs in the second inning, but Ty Wigginton’s throw was higher than Helton wanted and he lost it in the sun, allowing Freeman and Dan Uggla to score.

Because the throw was on line, Helton was charged with the error, the second costly miscue by the usually sure-handed first baseman in three days. He booted another ball in the ninth and was charged with an error before the official scorer changed it to an infield hit for Freeman, his third of the night.

He also had a fielder’s choice ground ball that scored Lowe, who led off with a single, to make it 7-1.

One night after his first career game-winning hit, a single that lifted Atlanta past Washington 9-8, Freeman delivered again for the Braves, driving a fastball in the third inning into the rock pile in center for a two-run homer, the rookie’s 14th.

One out later, Eric Hinske sent another first-pitch fastball into the right-field seats for his ninth homer and a 5-0 lead.

Hammel allowed six runs, four earned, and eight hits in five innings.

The Rockies were limited to Helton’s RBI single until the seventh, when Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki hit run-scoring bloop singles and Helton added a sacrifice fly.

The Braves swept a four-game series from the Rockies just before the All-Star break, sending Colorado into a nosedive that has spawned speculation that ace Ubaldo Jimenez could be traded just a year after starting the All-Star game for the National League.

Jimenez, who is signed for the next three years at just under $18 million and says he wants to stay in Colorado, has rebounded from a slow start caused in part by nagging thumb and hip injuries. He takes the mound for the Rockies on Tuesday night.

Notes: Braves RF Jason Heyward was scratched from the lineup because of a bruised left foot. Heyward, who was hit by a pitch Sunday against Washington, was replaced by Nate McLouth. … 3B Chipper Jones, on the 15-day DL following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee July 9, has joined Atlanta’s Triple-A team to begin a rehab assignment later this week. … Hammel hasn’t won consecutive starts since April.

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Arnie Stapleton can be reached at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

DENVER (AP) — Ian Kennedy tossed eight crisp innings, center fielder Chris Young robbed Ty Wigginton of a game-tying homer and the surging Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 2-1 on Wednesday night. Young drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop single in the sixth inning, then made his key grab in the eighth. The Diamondbacks have won eight of their last nine to move over .500 for just the second time this season. Kennedy (6-1) held down the Rockies all night, allowing just seven hits. The lone run he surrendered came on a sacrifice fly by Todd Helton in the fourth. The crafty righty is having quite the month on the mound, going 3-0 with a 2.02 ERA in May. Kennedy was helped out by Young’s sensational catch in dead center. Young drifted back on Wigginton’s drive and timed his leap to perfection, reaching over the wall and bringing the ball back. Kennedy pumped his fist as he walked off the mound and Wigginton shook his head in frustration while rounding first base. Young slapped gloves with teammate Justin Upton and high-fived Gerardo Parra as they sauntered into the dugout. Closer J.J. Putz pitched a flawless ninth, registering a franchise-record 14th straight save to start the season. Jason Hammel (3-4) was a hard-luck loser, pitching seven strong innings and surrendering two unearned runs. Shortstop Alfredo Amezaga’s error in the sixth proved costly for Hammel, opening the door for both runs. Amezaga was filling in for Troy Tulowitzki after the slugger was given his first day off this season. Amezaga threw high to Todd Helton at first, allowing Ryan Roberts to slide safely into the bag and set the stage for the decisive inning. Kelly Johnson then followed with a double. After Upton brought in a run with a groundout, Stephen Drew hit a shot into the left-center gap, only to have Gold Glove winner Carlos Gonzalez leap up and haul it in before brushing against the wall. But Gonzalez could do nothing about Young’s two-out flare that dropped in front of the left fielder, bringing in Johnson and making it 2-1. That was more than enough support for Kennedy, who’s now gone at least six innings in nine of his 11 starts. Kennedy pitched his way out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the fifth by getting Gonzalez to ground out. Seth Smith helped the Rockies jump out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth by leading off with a double. He went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Helton’s sacrifice fly to left. The Rockies are still coming to grips with losing left-hander Jorge De La Rosa to a season-ending elbow injury. He was placed on the disabled list Wednesday, a day after he tore a ligament in the third inning against Arizona. De La Rosa will have Tommy John-style tendon replacement surgery when the swelling goes down, possibly next week. The procedure will sideline him for a year. With his injury, Colorado will have to adjust its rotation on the fly. The immediate plan is to bring up righty Juan Nicasio from Double-A Tulsa and have him make a spot start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. After that, the rotation remains in flux. To take De La Rosa’s spot on the roster, the team recalled reliever Bruce Billings from Triple-A Colorado Springs. He’s never pitched in a major league game. NOTES: Arizona placed right-handed reliever Juan Gutierrez (shoulder) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Zach Kroenke from Triple-A Reno. … The Diamondbacks have been .500 or better in just 23 of their last 373 games since ending the ’08 season at 82-80. … The Rockies have gone 9-12 against the NL West this season. … With Tulowitzki out of the lineup, Helton hit cleanup for the first time this season.

Todd Helton looked like he was finished last year. A chronically bad back had robbed the strength from his legs and the pop from his bat.

Instead of driving the ball into the power alleys and trotting around the bases or pulling into second for a stand-up double, the Colorado Rockies’ fading first baseman was too often chugging out of the batter’s box after dribbling balls back to the pitcher or grounding weakly to the infielders.

Packing up for the winter after the worst season of his career, Helton sounded a lot like a man trying to outrun time. He declared that despite what the fans were thinking, he wasn’t contemplating retirement but a resurgence.

After batting a career-worst .256 with eight homers and 37 RBIs in 118 games — a far cry from the star seasons that had come to be expected of him — Helton hit the weight room like he did in his youth and strengthened his core to protect his back.

At age 37, he returned this spring with renewed health, a rebuilt physique and a dogged determination to regain his old form.

With his back better and his legs stronger, Helton is hitting like he used to.

“Seeing him in spring training and knowing how good he was feeling, I knew he was going to have a good year,” teammate Troy Tulowitzki said. “You look at our whole lineup, not too many guys have done much. He’s been the one constant that’s been going good since Day 1. Imagine what it would be like without him? It wouldn’t be very pretty.”

While the rest of the Rockies have swooned at the plate, Helton’s been a steady force, hitting .322 with six homers and 19 RBIs heading into Wednesday night’s game at Philadelphia. His .545 slugging percentage was tops on his team and second-best among all NL first basemen, and his three homers against lefties were his most in a season since 2004.

“He’s healthy,” San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain said. “The past couple of years, he’s had some problems with his back and his legs. He just looked different. This year, it looks like he’s swinging the bat right.”

Helton is reluctant to break down his restoration.

“I am stronger, but there’s some mechanical things that I’ve fixed,” he said. “I’m definitely stronger mentally. I think that also plays a big part in it.”

Helton will allow that he wondered like many others if he’d ever feel this good or hit this well again.

“I worry every offseason whether I’m going to have a good year the next year,” Helton said. “Ever since I’ve been playing, that’s what motivates me to work in the offseason, to try to get better.”

Rockies manager Jim Tracy said Helton’s health was the key to his turnaround.

“He’s able to do a lot of the things physically that he wasn’t able to do last year. If you don’t have a lower half, it’s hard to hit. If you’re trying to hit from the waist up, that’s hard to do. That’s really, really hard to do,” Tracy said.

“And as a result of having his legs, he’s creating an awful lot more leverage for himself. And when you have leverage, you are now putting yourself in a position to be able to consistently drive the ball and that’s what Todd Helton’s doing. He’s consistently driving the ball, whether it’s a right-handed pitcher, a left-handed pitcher.

“He’s back to being Todd.”

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AP Sports Writer Pat Graham contributed to this report.

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Arnie Stapleton can be reached at http://twitter.com/arniestapleton

DENVER — The Colorado Rockies were at their best at the plate on a night when Jorge De La Rosa wasn’t all that sharp on the mound.

Troy Tulowitzki broke out of a slump with a solo homer and two singles to help the Rockies hold off hot-hitting Cameron Maybin and the San Diego Padres 12-7 on Friday night.

For a change, it was the offense that rescued the hard-throwing De La Rosa.

Colorado’s stagnant offense belted out a season-high 16 hits and scored its most runs of the year as the team moved percentage points ahead of San Francisco for first place in the NL West.

“We all know we can be the best offensive team in the league. It’s just that we need to show it,” Carlos Gonzalez said. “We’ve just got to continue to do the same thing.”

Their outburst at the plate helped offset quite a night by Maybin, who finished 4 for 4 with two homers and three RBIs. It was the first multihomer game of his career and second straight contest in which he’s had four hits.

“It’s the approach,” Maybin explained. “I was just hitting a lot of balls to the left side of the field, so the approach was to back it up, trust my hands and trust my ability, just try to start using the whole field a little bit more.

“I think when I’m doing that I feel like I got a chance to do some good things.”

De La Rosa (5-1) was erratic but effective enough to earn his first win this month. The lefty lasted 5 2-3 innings, giving up five runs and a season-high nine hits. He struck out three and walked three.

“I was not so good today,” said De La Rosa, who had a single and an RBI on a fielder’s choice. “But when you get that kind of run support, you pitch more relaxed.”

The heart of the Rockies’ order – Gonzalez, Tulowitzki and Todd Helton – did a good portion of the damage as the trio combined for six hits, six runs and five RBIs. Gonzalez had a triple and two stolen bases, while Helton added a double.

Helton left soon after scoring a run in the sixth due to tightness in his left calf. He was going to be reevaluated Saturday.

“I don’t think it’s serious,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “I don’t think he pulled the calf, but he strained it a little bit, there’s no question or he would not have come out of the game. Todd Helton doesn’t come out unless there’s something going on.”

In Helton’s absence, Ty Wigginton slid over from third to first and Jose Lopez took over the hot corner.

Tulowitzki had his first multihit game since April 26. He finished 3 for 5, including his 10th homer of the season.

“Great to see Tulo have the offensive game that he had,” Tracy said.

Fresh off a 23-hit performance Wednesday in Milwaukee, the Padres had 11 against the Rockies. Maybin hit a solo homer in the second and a two-run shot in the seventh that drew the Padres to 9-7.

Maybin is the first Padres player to have two straight four-hit games since Reggie Sanders in July 1999 at Coors Field.

“He’s a very talented athlete,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “We think at where he is in his career at (24) years old, he has the makings of a tremendous all-around player.”

Dustin Moseley (1-5) had a rough first appearance at Coors Field, surrendering six runs and nine hits in just four innings, his shortest outing of the season.

The righty entered the contest with the top road ERA in the majors, too, a mark that soared from 0.68 to 2.35.

Moseley never settled into a groove after giving up three runs in a 40-pitch first inning. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth inning.

“I didn’t know if I was going to get any outs. I just wasn’t sharp,” Moseley said. “There’s really no other explanation, no excuse that I have. It’s just I wasn’t sharp, and it’s what happens when you face big league hitters and you’re not sharp.”

Before the game, Wigginton was activated off the disabled list after being bothered by a strained oblique since late April.

Wigginton went 1 for 5 with a double.

To make room on the roster, the Rockies sent struggling infielder Ian Stewart to Triple-A Colorado Springs to work on his swing. Stewart was hitting .064 in 21 games with Colorado this season.

“This was hard for me, seeing the average up there on the scoreboard every day and feeling pressure to get a hit every time I was up,” Stewart said. “I’m just going to try to go down there and have fun. See what happens.”

NOTES: Padres 2B Orlando Hudson (strained right hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tucson. … OF Dexter Fowler (bruised left knee) didn’t start for a second straight game. He came off the bench in the eighth and delivered an insurance run with a bloop single to left that scored Gonzalez. … The Rockies halted a two-game slide.

Enlargephoto

DENVER — The Colorado Rockies were at their best at the plate on a night when Jorge De La Rosa wasn`t all that sharp on the mound.

Troy Tulowitzki broke out of a slump with a solo homer and two singles to help the Rockies hold off hot-hitting Cameron Maybin and the San Diego Padres 12-7 on Friday night.

For a change, it was the offense that rescued the hard-throwing De La Rosa.

Colorado`s stagnant offense belted out a season-high 16 hits and scored its most runs of the year as the team moved percentage points ahead of San Francisco for first place in the NL West.

“We all know we can be the best offensive team in the league. It`s just that we need to show it,” Carlos Gonzalez said. “We`ve just got to continue to do the same thing.”

Their outburst at the plate helped offset quite a night by Maybin, who finished 4-for-4 with two homers and three RBI. It was the first multihomer game of his career and second straight contest in which he`s had four hits.

“It`s the approach,” Maybin explained. “I was just hitting a lot of balls to the left side of the field, so the approach was to back it up, trust my hands and trust my ability, just try to start using the whole field a little bit more.

“I think when I`m doing that I feel like I got a chance to do some good things.”

De La Rosa (5-1) was erratic but effective enough to earn his first win this month. The lefty lasted 52/3 innings, giving up five runs and a season-high nine hits. He struck out three and walked three.

“I was not so good today,” said De La Rosa, who had a single and an RBI on a fielder`s choice. “But when you get that kind of run support, you pitch more relaxed.”

The heart of the Rockies` order — Gonzalez, Tulowitzki and Todd Helton — did a good portion of the damage as the trio combined for six hits, six runs and five RBI. Gonzalez had a triple and two stolen bases, Helton added a double.

Helton left soon after scoring a run in the sixth due to tightness in his left calf. He will be reevaluated today.

“I don`t think it`s serious,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “I don`t think he pulled the calf, but he strained it a little bit, there`s no question or he would not have come out of the game. Todd Helton doesn`t come out unless there`s something going on.”

In Helton`s absence, Ty Wigginton slid over from third to first and Jose Lopez took over the hot corner.

Tulowitzki had his first multihit game since April 26. He finished 3 for 5, including his 10th homer of the season.

“Great to see Tulo have the offensive game that he had,” Tracy said.

Fresh off a 23-hit performance Wednesday in Milwaukee, the Padres had 11 against the Rockies. Maybin hit a solo homer in the second and a two-run shot in the seventh that drew the Padres to 9-7.

Dustin Moseley (1-5) had a rough first appearance at Coors Field, surrendering six runs and nine hits in just four innings, his shortest outing of the season.

“I didn`t know if I was going to get any outs. I just wasn`t sharp,” Moseley said. “There`s really no other explanation, no excuse that I have. It`s just I wasn`t sharp, and it`s what happens when you face big league hitters and you`re not sharp.”

Before the game, Wigginton was activated off the disabled list after being bothered by a strained oblique since late April.

Wigginton went 1 for 5 with a double.

To make room on the roster, the Rockies sent struggling infielder Ian Stewart to Triple-A Colorado Springs to work on his swing. Stewart was hitting .064 in 21 games with Colorado this season.

“This was hard for me, seeing the average up there on the scoreboard every day and feeling pressure to get a hit every time I was up,” Stewart said. “I`m just going to try to go down there and have fun. See what happens.”

Notable

Center fielder Dexter Fowler (bruised left knee) didn`t start for a second straight game. He came off the bench in the eighth and delivered an insurance run with a bloop single to left that scored Gonzalez. … The Rockies halted a two-game slide.

Rockies upcoming

Rockies 12, Padres 7 S.D. ab r h bi Colorado ab r h bi

Denorfi rf 5 0 0 0 S.Smith rf 5 1 2 1

Frieri p 0 0 0 0 Herrer 2b 4 1 2 0

Bartlett ss 5 0 1 1 CGnzlz lf 4 3 1 1

Cantu 1b 5 0 1 0 Tlwtzk ss 5 2 3 3

Headly 3b 4 2 1 0 Helton 1b 4 1 2 1

Maybin cf 4 3 4 3 Belisle p 0 0 0 0

Ludwck lf 4 1 2 1 RBtncr p 0 0 0 0

RJhnsn c 3 0 0 1 Fowler ph-cf 1 1 1 1

AlGnzlz 2b 3 1 1 1 Wggntn 3b-1b 5 1 1 0

Mosely p 1 0 0 0 Splrghs cf 5 2 3 1

Forsyth ph 1 0 0 0 Street p 0 0 0 0

Scriner p 0 0 0 0 Iannett c 4 0 0 0

Hawpe ph 0 0 0 0 DeLRs p 3 0 1 1

Qualls p 0 0 0 0 MtRynl p 0 0 0 0

Venale ph-rf 1 0 1 0 JoLopz 3b 1 0 0 0

Totals 36 7 11 7 Totals 41 12 16 9

San Diego 010 112 200 — 7

Colorado 320 121 03x — 12

E — Ludwick (1), Alb.Gonzalez (1). DP — San Diego 1, Colorado 2. LOB — San Diego 6, Colorado 8. 2B — Alb.Gonzalez (2), Helton (9), Wigginton (4). 3B — C.Gonzalez (1). HR — Maybin 2 (5), Tulowitzki (10). SB — C.Gonzalez 2 (6), Tulowitzki (3).

San Diego IP H R ER BB SO

Moseley L,1-5 4 9 6 6 2 3

Scribner 1 4 2 2 0 0

Qualls 2 2 1 1 0 1

Frieri 1 1 3 1 1 1

Colorado IP H R ER BB SO

De La Rosa W,5-1 52/3 9 5 5 3 3

Mat.Reynolds H,5 1/3 0 0 0 0 0

Belisle 1 1 2 2 1 2

R.Betancourt H,11 1 1 0 0 0 0

Street 1 0 0 0 0 0

WP — De La Rosa 2. Balk — Frieri. T — 3:13. A — 40,278 (50,490).