DENVER (AP) — Viewed as a power pitcher Mike Piazza 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,” 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 ROOMPadres: INF Christian Villanueva has a fractured finger and will be placed on the disabled list, Green said.ROSTER MOVEThe 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 DOGSIt 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 INNINGSpangenberg 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 SOMETHINGThe 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 & THATGray was cruising along http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-andre-ethier-jersey , retiring 12 straight, before SS Freddy Galvis lined a solo homer in the seventh. … Desmond scored two runs and stole a base.UP NEXTPadres 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. Throughout Enrique Hernandez's nine-pitch battle with Price, Machado appeared to be relaying signs and/or location to Hernandez through an exaggerated series of motions.As Price was coming set, Machado, leading off from second, would place his hands on his hips. Then, just before each pitch, Machado would begin a series of motions: touching his helmet with either his right or left hand, sometimes then touching or pulling thescript on his jersey afterward and other times grabbing or touching the thigh/groin area of his pants.As the at-bat unfolded, LeVangie remained in the dugout while Price fell behind Hernandez 2-1 and then 3-2 before鈥攆ollowing three foul balls鈥攖hrowing a 93 mph fastball that Hernandez swung through for strike three."Was it a little exaggerated? Yeah, maybe, but I saw the whole thing," LeVangie said of Machado's gyrations. "I had told [Boston manager] Alex [Cora] I wanted to go [to the mound] before the Puig at-bat because I wanted to talk about some things."But when a guy gets a big punchout in that situation and a coach comes out to take a visit...I didn't want to f--k with the momentum there because David got a huge strikeout."Plus, catcher Christian Vazquez had taken a mound visit already in the inning, trotting out for a chat with Price after Machado's base hit to put two runners aboard with none out. LeVangie was worried about slowing Price after the lefty's good start to the game, so he stayed put.Then, there were two out and runners on first and second, and the score was 1-1.From second Chase Utley Jersey , Machado gestured again. Puig swung at the first pitch he saw, a 93 mph fastball, knocking an RBI single into center to give the Dodgers their first鈥攁nd only鈥攍ead of the series. It was Machado who scored."David makes a good pitch on Puig,"LeVangiesaid."He jams him. [Puig] gets a flare. Then I gotta go out. But I talked to him with some small things after that, and he got out of that inning."I had a clear point I wanted to [make] after that at-bat because I saw Manny the entire time. I knew what he was doing."Charles Krupa/Associated PressAngry with himself because he felt his decision to delay the visit cost the Red Sox, LeVangie went out after Puig's RBI single to talk with Price and Vazquez, clearly to discuss what was occurring behind Price at second base and to change signs."We had a conversation," LeVangie said. "I don't want to get into the depths of it, but I brought up exactly what you're talking about."I let it get in my way鈥攂ecause of the strikeout, I didn't go out there [earlier]. I was so pissed that I didn't."Price had not allowed a hit in the first three innings of Game 2, and after he escaped the fourth, he threw two more hitless frames. While it is unclear whether Price knew what was occurring behind him during the Hernandez and Puig at-bats in the fourth, LeVangie was doing his best to properly time his interruption."I just told him, 'Hear me out. I know this is not the right time, but hear me out,'" LeVangie said.Cora declined comment to B/R on Thursday at Dodger Stadium when asked about the dugout conversation with LeVangie in the moment and for his take on the episode overall."I don't have a take," Cora said following an off-day media briefing.Vazquez, Price and Machado were not available for comment because neither team worked out at Dodger Stadium following all-day travel.Elise Amendola/Associated PressStealing signs has been around practically since baseball was invented鈥攐r, as MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday in Boston, "It's been a part of our game since Lassie was a puppy."It's become a hot topic this October because of various accusations of video shenanigans in the digital age that would violate baseball rules if true and because so much video scouting leaves pitchers vulnerable to tipping their pitches and offering hitters strong clues as to what is coming. Boston closer Craig Kimbrel has had a rough October stretchbecause of the latter.Machado Kirk Gibson Jersey , meanwhile, has been in the headlines after being called a "dirty player" by Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich during the NLCS and after he told Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal that hustling isn't "my cup of tea" and that he is not "Johnny Hustle" after being called out for not running hard on various plays this season.Being caught apparently relaying signs to Dodgers hitters from second base is nowhere close to the dirty-player charges, LeVangie emphasized."Oh, it's clean," the pitching coach said. "It's baseball. If you're not hiding your stuff with a runner on second base and you're giving them a free view, that's on you, the pitcher and the catcher. It's up to the pitcher and catcher to manage that and to us to oversee it and make sure we're going about it the right way."We see this all the time. Not just him, with everyone. We are very respectful of all this, and it's a big part of who we are and what we try to manage. As far as our pitching staff, we want to make sure we control those guys at second base and [that] they're not stealing our signs. We're changing our signs constantly, every pitch. Typically, every one of our pitchers will change every pitch."If you're wondering why the average time of a postseason game is stretching to nearly four hours, this is one small example. You can never be too careful.From second base the other night, though, because Machado was almost flamboyant in what he appeared to be doing, it didn't take a professional detective to sniff out that one.Asked whether he had seen anything as obvious recently, LeVangie chuckled and said "yes.""I've seen worse in Little League a few years ago," he said. "It was a Little League World Series game I saw on television. It was extremely obvious." Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. 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