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Bradley is thrown to ground by manager

  -- The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) Padres outfielder Milton Bradley injured his right knee when manager Bud Black spun him to the ground in an attempt to keep him from going after first base ump Mike Winters.

The Padres were livid, claiming that Winters baited Bradley, leading to a confrontation that overshadowed Colorado's impressive three-game sweep of the wild-card leaders.

Bradley, whose volatile temper has overshadowed his talent during his career, called it "the most unprofessional and most ridiculous thing I've ever seen."

"It's terrible. And now, because of him, my knee's hurt," said Bradley, a second-half catalyst for the Padres who was in his third game back from an injury that sidelined him for nearly two weeks. "If this costs me my season because of that, he needs to be reprimanded. I'm taking some action. I'm not going to stand pat and accept this because I didn't do nothing wrong."

Asked about his knee, Bradley said: "I've got to get an MRI. It's killing me, though."

Crew chief Bruce Froemming wouldn't allow a reporter to speak with Winters.

Froemming said Bradley "got grumpy with Mike Winters. Winters told him to knock it off and he continued it. There is no covering up what he did. He had to be physically restrained."

The Padres squandered an excellent chance to gain ground with a 7-3 loss at home to the surging Colorado Rockies.

The Padres retained their half-game lead in the wild-card race over Philadelphia, while the Rockies pulled within 1 1/2 games by winning their season-high eighth straight.

San Diego stayed 2 1/2 games behind first-place Arizona in the NL West with seven to play. Colorado is four back of the Diamondbacks with six games remaining.