DENVER -- The San Diego Padres belted four home runs off Colorado starter Kyle Kendrick, scored in each of the first six innings and got a masterful start from James Shields as they pounded the Rockies 10-4 on Sunday.

The Padres joined the Orioles (June 16) as the only team to score in the first six innings of a game this season. It was the third time in franchise history the Padres have accomplished that feat. They also did it Aug. 15, 1986, at Cincinnati and July 25, 1990, against the Reds.

The win enabled the Padres to avoid being swept in a three-game series and sent them home after a 3-6 road trip. The Padres went 12-7 against the Rockies this season, winning 12 games against an opponent for the first time since they went 12-7 against the Diamondbacks in 2013.

The Padres, who built a 10-1 lead in the sixth, had never beaten the Rockies 12 times in a single season. After being outscored 17-6 while dropping the first two games of this series, the Padres piled on Kendrick and relied on Shields (13-6).

"Anytime you come here, you got to set your sights as far as your release point a little bit lower," he said. "The ball's not going to break as much. With the elevation, you're not going to have as crisp offspeed stuff. You got to just set your sights a little bit lower and execute your pitch."

That he did. After giving up a leadoff homer to center fielder Charlie Blackmon in the first, Shields retired 19 of the next 21 batters he faced and 11 in succession before allowing his second and final hit, a double by first baseman Justin Morneau with one out in the seventh.

Morneau scored on a wild pitch by Shields, who worked 6 2/3 innings and won his third straight start and fourth straight decision. He was charged with four runs, the result of pinch hitter Ben Paulsen's two-run single off Bud Norris.

"Now his line isn't going to look great, and that upsets me," Murphy said of Shields. "But the team knows. The guy posted and did what was needed here in Colorado against a very formidable team."

The Padres teed off on Kendrick (6-13), who gave up a career-high four home runs in four innings, bringing his total for the season to a major-league-leading 32 in 131 1/3 innings. Kendrick, who was on the disabled list the entire month of August with right shoulder inflammation, yielded six runs in his brief start, raising his ERA to 6.37.

Kendrick, who was not unavailable to the media after the game, yielded three homers in a game seven times, including twice this season, before making dubious history against the Padres. Third baseman Yangervis Solarte hit a two-run homer in the first, his 13th of the season, following a walk. Right fielder Matt Kemp (23rd of the season) and shortstop Jedd Gyorko (16th) homered in the third, and second baseman Cory Spangenberg (third) led off the fourth with a homer.

"The ball was in the air a lot against him," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Kendrick. "And the balls carried real well. He had his pitches elevate, and conditions weren't good for that."

Shields, whom the Padres signed as a free agent after he helped the Royals reach the World Series last year, has pitched 196 innings and is closing in on his ninth straight season with at least 200 innings and doing so with no signs of fatigue or diminished sharpness.

"Obviously, I didn't end my season until the first of November last year," he said. "I didn't have too big of an offseason to get ready. I threw a lot of innings last year (252 including the postseason) because we went to the World Series. But this is what I train myself to do is go deep in games and last 162 games and beyond.

"I think every year of my career, you look in August and September and my numbers have been halfway decent but more than anything my stamina's been there. That's a testament to my workout (regimen), to sum it up."

NOTES: Padres RHP Shawn Kelley, who left a game Sept. 1 with a right forearm strain, threw a side session and will rejoin the San Diego bullpen Tuesday against the Giants. ...Padres RHPs Colin Rea and Brandon Maurer have not resumed throwing. Maurer (right shoulder inflammation) has been on the disabled list since Aug. 11 and is done for the season. Rea, who experienced forearm/elbow soreness the day after his last start on Sept. 8, likely won't return this season...Rockies LHP Yohan Flande, who left his start in the third inning Saturday night when he was hit with a line drive on his left knee, was sore on Sunday, but he was better than manager Walt Weiss expected. It will be a few days before the Rockies determine whether Flande can make his next scheduled start Friday against the Dodgers.