SAN DIEGO -- As former teammate Jordan Lyles was retiring the first 12 Rockies he faced, the desperate number kept growing for playoff-contending Colorado.

Twenty straight innings without a run. Twenty-one straight scoreless innings . . . 22 . . . 23.

"Our offense is too good to stay where it was," Rockies right-handed starter Jon Gray said Friday night after Colorado defeated the Padres 4-1 behind three relatively short solo homers and the pitching of Gray and four relievers.

Not only had Colorado been shut out in their two previous games, they had lost four straight and six of eight to allow Milwaukee and St. Louis to climb back into the race for the second National League wild-card berth.

The Rockies needed a win. But before that, they needed a run.

And Nolan Arenado delivered leading off the fifth, hitting a 368-foot, opposite-field drive off Lyles that landed in the first row of seats in right. That ended the Rockies' streak of consecutive scoreless innings at 23.

"Nolan does big things in big spots," said Trevor Story of Arenado's 35th homer of the season.

And no spot seemed bigger than the one the Rockies found themselves in.

Fortunately, the Rockies weren't done.

Three hitters after Arenado put the Rockies ahead 1-0, Ian Desmond also went the opposite way with a 342-foot drive off Lyles into the short porch in right. Then, after the Padres had cut the deficit to 2-1, Story led off the seventh with a 353-foot drive onto the first balcony of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.

In the 14-year history of Petco Park, rarely have three homers in a game travelled a shorter distance.

But it was enough for the Rockies to win.

The Rockies' win allowed them to gain a half-game in the race for the second National League wild card. Milwaukee lost to slip two games behind the Rockies. But St. Louis won to remain 1 1/2 games back.

"Every win coming down the stretch is huge," said Story. "It was a great win for us after six bad games."

The right-handed Gray allowed one run on five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in six innings to improve to 9-4. It was his 12th straight start allowing three or fewer runs, which is tied for the second-longest streak in Rockies history.

"Gray was dominant and attacking early," said Padres manager Andy Green. "We just didn't do much against him."

Right-hander Greg Holland picked up his 41st save, tying the Rockies' single-season saves record.

Jordan Lyles (1-4) took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings plus two hitters. Lyles gave up all three homers, which travelled a combined distance of 1,063 feet.

"That was a big step in the right direction for Jordan," said Green. "We saw a little more momentum."

"I felt pretty good," said Lyles. "I had more feel, more velocity."

Six days ago at Coors Field, Lyles gave up seven runs on eight hits and three walks over a span of four innings in his third start as a Padre. Friday night, Lyles retired the first 12 Rockies he faced, striking out five of his former teammates.

But the run ended abruptly when Arenado opened the fifth with that opposite-field homer off a change-up that also happened to be up in the strike zone.

After Lyles retired Gerardo Parra and Story, Desmond lined his sixth homer down the right-field line.

Lyles' RBI single in the bottom of the fifth halved the Rockies lead.

Erick Aybar singled to open the fifth but was thrown out by Jonathan Lucroy on a ball that bounced a short distance away from the Colorado catcher. Gray then stuck out Austin Hedges' for the inning's second out.

Travis Jankowski followed with a line-drive single to left for his first hit since April 21. The outfielder suffered a fracture of his right foot the following day and spent the majority of the season on the disabled list and with Triple-A El Paso.

After Jankowski stole second, Lyles grounded a single to center.

The Rockies upped the margin to 4-1 in the seventh.

Story led off the inning with his 22nd homer, a 353-foot drive. Desmond then singled past Wil Myers at first, marking the end to Lyles' night. With reliever Phil Maton on for the Padres, Desmond stole second and raced home on Lucroy's single to left.

NOTES: The Rockies were shut out in back-to-back games Wednesday and Thursday, marking only the 14th time in franchise history that the Rockies were shut out in back-to-back games and the first time since Aug. 11-12 at the New York Mets. ... The Rockies need two wins in their final three games in San Diego to post their second winning road record in franchise history. ... Rookie Padres CF Manuel Margot stole bases in three straight games through Thursday night, giving him 17 on the season. Padres manager Andy Green projects him to eventually steal 40-plus bases if his on-base percentage climbs. ... Green said the Padres would stick to their six-man rotation for the last 10 days of the season.