DENVER -- After two miserable losses to begin their home season, the Colorado Rockies rebounded Sunday.

Behind a much-needed strong start from Chad Bettis and an offense that walloped five solo home runs, Colorado posted a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres.

The Rockies began their home season with a 13-6 loss Friday and were embarrassed in a 16-3 thrashing Saturday. The Padres had three six-run innings in those victories.

"You're going to play some ugly games over the course of a season," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "But to start our home opener the way we did, and to play ugly the first two times out in front of our fans was disappointing. But it's only two of 162 (games), and our guys put an end to it today."

Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez homered twice, and rookie shortstop Trevor Story homered for the seventh time in his first six major league games, a major league record.

Story went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts Saturday, ending his streak of homering in his first four games. He had two hitless at-bats and a walk Sunday before he led off the ninth with a homer against Brandon Maurer.

Asked if he was more relaxed Sunday with the streak no longer on the line, Story said, "I wouldn't say I noticed anything like that. I put the most pressure on myself."

The Rockies hit their first three homers off Padres starter James Shields (0-2). He got 14 outs on ground balls in seven innings and accomplished his goal of pitching deep into the game to give the bullpen a breather. However, Shields was peeved about the home runs, particularly the back-to-back shots by Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado in the first.

"There's two outs," Shields said. "Can't give up two home runs right there. This is a frustrating game sometimes, but you move on. I'm a competitor."

Shields also gave up a homer to Ryan Raburn -- the fifth pinch-hit shot of Raburn's career -- in the seventh to give the Rockies a 4-2 lead. Story and Gonzalez tagged Maurer with back-to-back homers to open the eighth and complete the scoring.

Shields yielded four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out two.

The Rockies needed a strong outing from Bettis after starters Jordan Lyles and Jorge De La Rosa combined to pitch 7 1/3 innings in the first two games of this series. Bettis spared the taxed bullpen by giving up two runs, one earned, on six hits in seven innings with no walks and six strikeouts.

"The biggest part was he pitched in effectively," San Diego left fielder Melvin Upton Jr. said. "It wasn't just for show. He was able to throw strikes in there consistently today and made us respect it, and he worked his slider off of that."

Bettis also helped the offense in the fifth.

After Tony Wolters singled with one out for his first major league hit, Bettis showed bunt but then singled to right-center, sending Wolters to third.

Charlie Blackmon hit a slow grounder to first baseman Wil Myers, who is relatively new to the position. Myers could have nailed Wolters at the plate but elected to try for an inning-ending double play. Blackmon easily beat shortstop Alexei Ramirez's relay throw as Wolters scored to give the Rockies a 3-2 lead.

That was enough for Bettis, who gave up a run-scoring double to Adam Rosales in the second and an unearned run in the third on Myers' sacrifice fly after left fielder Gerardo Parra bobbled Cory Spangenberg's single. In one stretch, Bettis retired the 13 consecutive batters.

"Couple days ago I sat down with Tony Wolters and figured out how I wanted to pitch to these guys," Bettis said. "I was efficient with all my pitches."

Spangenberg doubled home a run against Boone Logan in the eighth to make it 4-3. Rockies right-hander Miguel Castro then came on and retired Matt Kemp and Myers on grounders.

Jake McGee pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save.

Although they were denied a series sweep, the Padres left Coors Field in much better shape than when they arrived. After getting shut out in three losses at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres extended their major league record to 30 scoreless innings to begin a season before their offense began firing.

"I think anytime you win a series, it's a good thing," San Diego manager Andy Green said. "Obviously, right after the game, you're thinking about what you could have done differently to win a ballgame today. But I feel good about what we did here in Denver. That kind of turned our season around from the very beginning to where we are right now."

NOTES: Rockies RHP Christian Bergman will start Thursday against the Giants as the Rockies use a fifth starter for the first time this season. ... Padres 3B Yangervis Solarte (right hamstring strain) was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and INF Alexi Amarista was recalled from Triple-A El Paso. Solarte pulled up as he neared first base Saturday night after hitting a single to the gap in left-center. ... Rockies RF Carlos Gonzalez has hit safely in 16 consecutive games dating to last season. ... The Rockies' 16-3 loss Saturday night was their most lopsided defeat since they lost 20-5 at Philadelphia on May 26, 2008, and their most one-sided loss at Coors Field since they fell 15-2 to the San Francisco Giants on May 13, 2007.