DENVER — The Padres fought back and then faded.
Thus continued their fade in the National League West and, potentially, the playoff picture.
The Colorado Rockies' 7-5 victory Wednesday afternoon left the Padres 1-6 on a road trip in which they played the two bottom dwellers in the National League West.
They lost three of four in Arizona to the Diamondbacks, the team with the major leagues' worst record, before being swept for a second straight three-game series at Coors Field for the first time ever.
Losses the past two days by the Cincinnati Reds, their closest pursuers, are all that allowed the Padres to maintain a 1½-game lead in the Wild Card race.
According to the statistical site Fangraphs, the Padres had a 92.3 percent chance of making the playoffs on July 17. They are 12-16 since, and that likelihood was down to 46.3 percent at the start of play Wednesday.
Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta appeared to be doing what he was signed for — until he left with one out in the fourth inning after surrendering a home run to Dom Nuñez that gave the Rockies a 5-4 lead. Arrieta missed 3½ weeks in July while with the Cubs due to a right hamstring injury. Manager Jayce Tingler said Arrieta suffered a mild strain of his left hamstring.
The Padres have two starting pitchers (Yu Darvish and Chris Paddack) on the injured list, and Arrieta was signed Monday to fill innings without letting games get away.
He allowed three runs in the first inning and one in the third but was at just 64 pitches when he departed.
Jake Cronenworth completing a double play by throwing home to get a runner in the first inning and Austin Nola throwing out a runner trying to steal second in the third helped Arrieta. Trent Grisham seemingly misjudging a fly ball in the third allowed a run-scoring single that gave the Rockies a 4-3 lead.
Wil Myers' first home run pulled the Padres to 3-2 in the second inning. Arrieta led off the third with a single, went to second on a groundout and scored from there on Manny Machado's single to tie the game 3-3. Myers' second homer tied the game 4-4 in the fourth.
The Padres went down in order in the top of the fifth and fell behind 7-4 when Charlie Blackmon doubled and Trevor Story homered in succession off Nabil Crismatt.
Cronenworth doubled to lead off the sixth inning, moved to third on Eric Hosmer's single and scored on a single by Grisham.
That made it 7-5. And that was it.
Tommy Pham's drive to the warning track ended the sixth. The Padres went 0-for-2 with a runner on second base in the seventh, went down in order in the eighth and the top of the order stranded Ha-seong Kim at first base after he led off the ninth with a single.
