— Viewed as a power pitcher Youth Mark Letestu Jersey , Jon Gray always felt he needed to rely on strikeouts.

He altered that thinking. This is Jon Gray: Version 2.0.

Gray threw effectively into the seventh inning and Ian Desmond hit a two-run triple in the sixth, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 6-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.

“Jon wasn’t as crisp as we’ve seen him, but yet he pitched into the seventh inning,” Rockies manager Bud Black said.

All part of his change.

He was sent to the minors earlier this season to hone his command and Gray returned a different pitcher. He doesn’t rely on his fastball as much as he placed more faith in his breaking pitches.

“It’s more of a controlled aggression than being aggressive,” Gray explained. “I’m not trying to make it nasty and throw it under their bat. I’m trying to make a quality pitch that’s sharp, that’s in the strike zone, but keeping it out of the heart of the plate.”

Gray (10-7) went 6 1/3 innings and allowed two runs before running out of steam and turning it over to the bullpen. He’s now 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA over seven starts since his recall from Triple-A Albuquerque.

“I hit the reset button,” Gray said.

After allowing a run in the first, Gray settled into a groove against a Padres team that was missing infielder Wil Myers after he was a late scratch. Myers sustained a cut on his nose when a grounder hit him in the face while he was fielding during batting practice.

Padres manager Andy Green said after the game there was no concussion.

“He definitely took a hard one off the face. I don’t know that he was ever pretty but he’s definitely not pretty right now,” Green said. “Probably down (Thursday) and hope we can get him back in rhythm in L.A.”

Myers was scheduled to make his eighth start at third base as the Padres experimented with sliding the veteran first baseman across the infield. Instead, Cory Spangenberg moved to third and Jose Pirela played second.

Rockies catcher Tony Wolters added an RBI triple and a run-scoring sacrifice fly for the rolling Rockies, who began the day 1 1/2 games behind NL West-leading Arizona.

Jacob Nix (1-2) turned in a solid outing in his first career road start. He allowed three runs over five innings.

“There’s still very much to like and a lot to look forward to Youth Taven Bryan Jersey ,” Green said of his right-hander.

The Rockies improved to 24-24 against teams with a losing record. In contrast, they’re 45-33 versus those at or above the .500 mark.

“It shows you why you can’t sleep on anybody,” said Carlos Gonzalez, who had an RBI single in the first.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: INF Christian Villanueva has a fractured finger and will be placed on the disabled list, Green said.

ROSTER MOVE

The New York Yankees acquired catcher Chris Rabago off waivers from the Rockies and optioned him to Double-A Trenton. The move freed up a spot on the 40-man roster for the Rockies, which could potentially be used to add Matt Holliday. The slugger is currently hitting .346 with Triple-A Albuquerque.

GONE TO THE DOGS

It was a “ruff” night as a parade of pooches made their way around the field before the game as part of a promotion called “Bark at the Park.”

“This is the tail end of the dog days” of summer, Black joked. “This is the back end of the dog days.”

TROUBLESOME INNING

Spangenberg had an RBI double in the first, which has turned into a problematic inning for the Rockies. The starting pitchers have allowed 110 runs in the opening inning this season.

START OF SOMETHING

The Rockies have now won each of Gray’s last nine starts. It matches Ubaldo Jimenez’s stretch in 2010 for the team’s longest win streak during a pitcher’s starts in franchise history.

THIS & THAT

Gray was cruising along, retiring 12 straight, before SS Freddy Galvis lined a solo homer in the seventh. … Desmond scored two runs and stole a base.

UP NEXT

Padres LHP Joey Lucchesi (6-7, 3.79 ERA) makes his fourth career start against Colorado on Thursday. The Rockies counter with LHP Kyle Freeland (11-7, 2.96). He’s 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 11 starts at home.

On a night when Albert Pujols moved up the career home run ladder Bruce Smith Jersey , rookie teammate David Fletcher grabbed onto the bottom rung.

Pujols hit two home runs to tie Ken Griffey Jr. for sixth place with 630, and Fletcher connected for his first in the majors as the Los Angeles Angels romped to an 11-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

Pujols rarely talks about personal achievements. But matching Griffey, a former Mariners star, had him feeling an extra sense of pride.

”Griffey was everybody’s hero growing up and that’s how I look at it,” Pujols said. ”I know I am a right-handed hitter, but everybody wanted to have that sweet swing. For me, I got a chance to become pretty good friends with him. … It’s just really special to tie a legend and against a team that he came up with in the big leagues.”

Justin Upton also homered for the Angels, who took two of three in the series. Tyler Skaggs pitched six strong innings in his return from the disabled list.

Mariners starter James Paxton left in the first inning with lower back stiffness.

Pujols hit a two-run shot in the first and a solo drive in the sixth. He also had three hits to pass ex-Angel Rod Carew and move into a tie for 25th all-time with Rickey Henderson at 3,055.

It was the 50th multihomer game for Pujols, who has 16 home runs this season. He went back-to-back with Upton in the sixth.

Paxton (8-4) exited after Pujols connected for the first time. The left-hander gave up three runs and three hits in two-thirds of an inning, throwing just 17 pitches in his final start of the first half.

The injury is not believed to be serious, but the Mariners could put Paxton on the disabled list to add a player to the roster for this weekend’s interleague series at Colorado.

”Going out in the first inning Authentic Customized Buccaneers Jerseys , you can tell right from the get-go that he was not right,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. ”He wanted to give it a go and try to battle through it but you could see that it was not the typical James Paxton.”

Skaggs (7-5), who missed nine games with a hamstring strain, gave up one run on five hits with five strikeouts and a walk. The left-hander has allowed one earned or less in six consecutive outings, the longest such streak from an Angels starter since George Brunet in 1968.

”This is the best I have ever thrown the ball in my career so I’m going to take it one day at a time, one step at a time,” Skaggs said. ”I’m extremely proud of (the one-run streak). As a starting pitcher, that’s all you ask for.”

Fletcher hit the Angels’ third leadoff home run this season. Ian Kinsler had the other two.

”Fletch is doing a good job since we called him up and he has been a spark in our lineup,” Pujols said. ”He has done a great job and has played an unbelievable third base. It’s really special for him to grow up in this area, go to school just down the street.”

Upton’s home run was his 18th and it gave Los Angeles an 8-1 lead in the sixth.

The Angels have won three of their past four series. The one they lost was last weekend in Seattle. The Angels had lost five of their last six against the Mariners before this series began.

NO AVERAGE JOE

Mike Trout scored three runs and stole a base, joining Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (1974) as the only players to compile 100 hits, 80 walks and 15 steals before the All-Star break.

It was not only Trout’s third three-run game of the season Authentic Adam Boqvist Jersey , his walk gave him a major league-leading 81 on the season. The previous Angels record in a first half was 62.

Trout’s 81 walks are the most before the All-Star break since Frank Thomas had 84 for the Chicago White Sox in 1994.

ROMINE PITCHES IN

Mariners infielder Andrew Romine entered as a pitcher in the eighth to face his former team and the right-hander retired Trout (fly ball) and Pujols (grounder) before giving up a two-run single to Kinsler, who had three hits.

It was Romine’s fifth appearance as a pitcher. He took the mound four times for the Detroit Tigers, including two scoreless appearances last season.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: LHP Marco Gonzales (bruised left calf) was getting treatment after he was hit by a comebacker Wednesday, and Servais said the 10-game winner will be pushed to the back half of the rotation after next week’s All-Star break. … RHP Felix Hernandez (lower back stiffness) will come off the disabled list next week and pitch at the front of the rotation when the second half of the season begins.

Angels: RHP Garrett Richards has elected Tommy John surgery over a conservative treatment option for his damaged ulnar collateral ligament and will miss the remainder of the season. … OF Chris Young (left hamstring strain) was given a platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection but has not started baseball activity after he was placed on the 10-day disabled list July 4.

UP NEXT

Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, who threw seven scoreless innings May 16 in his only major league appearance this season, will be recalled Friday to start the series opener at Colorado.

Angels: One week after recording a career-best eight strikeouts against the Dodgers at home, right-hander Felix Pena (1-0, 3.63 ERA) will get another crack at them Friday in Los Angeles.

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