Peralta Shines as Padres Rout Rockies

David Peralta of the Padres celebrating a home run against the Rockies

Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

August 4, 2024

Padres 10, Rockies 2

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 4) — David Peralta robbed one home run before hitting a no-doubt three-run blast of his own, helping pave the way for a 10–2 blowout victory by the San Diego Padres over the Colorado Rockies in the rubber match Sunday afternoon.

Rockies starting pitcher Cal Quantrill labored through the second inning, taking 34 pitches to retire the side despite only allowing a run. That took its toll, as Quantrill ultimately left after taking 88 pitches to get through 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on five hits, walking three and striking out two.

Quantrill used one word to describe his start: “Grinding.” He elaborated, “Battled in the second. I really didn’t have my best stuff today. These last three or four, I’ve been pressing, trying to find it again. I thought we battled, but it just wasn’t quite enough.”

Rockies – Padres Game Summary

Unlike the first two games of this series, the Padres scored first. Designated hitter Xander Bogaerts led off the bottom of the second with a single to right. He scored when center fielder Jackson Merrill cracked a double off the wall in right-center. A walk by right fielder David Peralta and sacrifice bunt by shortstop Ha-Seong Kim put runners on second and third with one out. Quantrill escaped the jam after striking out catcher Kyle Higashioka and retiring first baseman Luis Arraez on a fly to shallow left-center.

Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle led off the fourth with a deep fly to left off Padres starting pitcher Matt Waldron. Jurickson Profar, robbed of a homer Friday by Doyle, leapt for a revenge robbery. He missed by inches, giving Doyle a game-tying homer.

Rockies left fielder Sam Hilliard led off the fifth with a deep fly to right. It appeared to be headed toward the top of the wall with a chance to go out. Peralta, who made several leaping grabs at the wall while playing left field for the Arizona Diamondbacks, repeated the feat here, drawing a roar from the sellout crowd.

“You hate to see that happen to you,” Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon said. “Want it to only happen to the other team. It wasn’t a good thing for us. I want to see those balls go over the wall.”

Peralta’s grab became more important when Higashioka led off the bottom half of that inning with a tie-breaking homer to left. Two batters later and with one out, Profar smoked a no-doubter to right, making the score 3–1.

From Bad to Worse

After Quantrill walked Jake Cronenworth, with two of the balls appearing to nip the corner, Rockies manager Bud Black came to the mound. He summoned Justin Lawrence to pitch to Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who grounded into an inning ending 6–3 double play. As Quantrill left, he demonstratively yelled at plate umpire Chris Segal. When Segal yelled his response, Quantrill dismissively waved his left hand toward him in disgust.

The bottom of the sixth did not go as well for Lawrence. He hit leadoff man Bogaerts and walked Merrill. Up came Peralta, who sent a drive to right for a no-doubt three-run homer.

With the Padres now leading 6–1, Adrian Morejon, who relieved Waldron with two outs in the sixth, coughed up a leadoff homer to Rockies catcher Jacob Stallings in the seventh. In the bottom half, the Padres got the run back after a leadoff double by Profar and a one-out ground-rule double by Machado, both off Anthony Molina.

Noah Davis came in to pitch the eighth for the Rockies. It did not go well for him. A one-out walk by Higashioka preceded a single to right by Arraez and another walk by Profar. Cronenworth smoked a bases-loaded double to the right-field corner, scoring Higashioka and Arraez. Machado brought Profar in with a single to right, bringing the score to 10–2. A 4–6–3 double-play groundout by Bogaerts stopped the bleeding while ending the inning. Yuki Matsui pitched around a one-out single to left by Stallings to nail the door shut and give the Padres the series win.

What Went Right for the Rockies

Defense

Ezequiel Tovar made a slick defensive play to end the seventh inning with runners on second and third. Pinch-hitter Bryce Johnson hit a slow bouncer toward short, but it changed direction more towards the middle upon hitting the seam on the edge of the mound. Tovar charged hard, leaned forward to glove the ball as it changed direction, maintained his balance, and threw a strike on the run to nab Johnson.

Ryan McMahon made two nice defensive plays. The first came on the bunt from Ha-Seong Kim in the second. Runners were on first and second with nobody out. When Kim dropped the bunt, McMahon hesitated to see what Quantrill would do. If Quantrill had attacked the ball, McMahon needed to be at third to take the throw. But Quantrill also hesitated, so McMahon had to take over. He charged hard, barehanded the ball, and fired a strike to retire Kim by a narrow margin. McMahon also made a running catch to his left of a Peralta liner for the second out of the fourth inning.

“(McMahon) and Tovar on the left side — I can’t think of a better shortstop-third base tandem than those two guys,” Black said. “I challenge anybody to show me a better pair: range, arm, instincts, all types of plays. … We’re fortunate to have those two guys playing Gold Glove defense on the left side.”

Jacob Stallings

Stallings went 2-for-3 Sunday, the only Rockie with multiple hits in the game. Combined with his performance Saturday, Stallings went 3-for-5 in the series with two homers.

What Went Wrong for the Rockies

Pitching

Every pitcher in the game for the Rockies gave up at least one run. Molina gave up one, but Quantrill, Davis, and Lawrence each gave up three.

Of Quantrill, Black said, “(He was) missing with the fastball (and) missing with the split. Couldn’t get any consistency with those two pitches.”

Black said of Lawrence, “It was a tale of two Justins today. Came in and got their best player (Manny Machado) to hit into a double-play ball in a very, very big spot. Then seven, eight minutes later, he hits Bogaerts with a fastball, then a four-pitch walk, then a homer. The inconsistency is what we’re seeing. Good pitches to Machado, then bad pitches in the sixth.”

David Peralta

Peralta, as mentioned earlier, made impact plays on defense as well as offense, given the robbery at the wall as well as the three-run homer. “We’ve seen a lot of David, with his years with the Diamondbacks,” Black said. “He’s a professional baseball player. And he’s aging, but he’s still a contributor. He’s a guy that’s going to do everything he can for whatever team he is on to help them win, and he did that today.”

Looking Ahead

Waldron (7–9) earned the win, with Quantrill (7–8) taking the loss.

The Rockies and Padres both headed to the airport after the game. It will be a flight home for the Rockies, who will open a three-game series against the New York Mets Tuesday at Coors Field after a day off. Right-hander Luis Severino (7–4, 3.93 ERA) will take the mound for the Mets against Kyle Freeland (3–4, 5.64 ERA) of the Rockies. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm Mountain.

The Padres will head to Pittsburgh for a crucial three-game series against the Pirates, who are three and a half games out of the third NL Wild Card spot. It will begin Tuesday night. Left-hander Bailey Falter (5–7, 3.95 ERA) will start for the Pirates, while the Padres have yet to announce a starting pitcher. First pitch will be at 3:40 pm Pacific.