Doyle Robs Homer as Rockies Defeat Padres

Brenton Doyle and Ryan McMahon of the Rockies celebrate a two-run single by Kris Bryant against the Padres

Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

August 2, 2024

Rockies 5, Padres 2

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 2) — The Colorado Rockies won their third straight game when they defeated the San Diego Padres, 5–2, Friday night in front of 44,393 at a sold-out Petco Park.

The Rockies bounced back from a 2–1 deficit with a three-run sixth and padded their lead with another run in the seventh. Second baseman Brendan Rodgers led the offensive charge for the Rockies, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and two runs scored. Right fielder Kris Bryant added two hits, including a key two-run single in the sixth inning.

Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber gave the Rockies seven strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits, including two solo homers, with one walk and six strikeouts. Tyler Kinley pitched a scoreless eighth to maintain the lead, aided by a highlight-reel home run robbery by Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle. Victor Vodnik pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his fifth save of the season, the most by any National League rookie in 2024.

Rockies – Padres Game Summary

Rodgers put the Rockies ahead when he led off the second with a no-doubt homer to left. Padres third baseman Manny Machado responded in kind to lead off the bottom of the second, with his shot landing near the landing spot of Rodgers’ blast.

The Rockies had a chance to extend the lead in the top of the fourth when they loaded the bases with one out. But a grounder to short by catcher Elias Diaz turned into a side-retiring 6–4–3 double play. The missed opportunity hurt even more in the bottom of the inning, when Padres DH Donovan Solano led off with a homer to left-center, giving the Padres a 2–1 lead.

Regaining the Lead

In the top of the sixth, off new Padres pitcher Jeremiah Estrada, the Rockies loaded the bases with no outs. Center fielder Brendon Doyle and third baseman Ryan McMahon both walked before Rodgers hit an infield single to the shortstop. After first baseman Michael Toglia struck out swinging, Kris Bryant lined a two-run single to center. Diaz struck out before left fielder Jake Cave dumped a single to left-center, scoring Rodgers to give the Rockies a 4–2 lead. It became a 5–2 game in the top of the seventh thanks to a McMahon sacrifice fly to center that scored shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.

Tyler Kinley tossed a perfect eighth to maintain the Rockies lead. The first out, however, took some heroics. Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar belted a fly to deep right-center. Doyle, on his horse, ran it down and made a leaping grab at the wall to rob Profar of a home run and draw a “Wow!” from Kinley. Yuki Matsui pitched a 1–2–3 top of the ninth to keep the Padres within three runs, but Victor Vodnik rendered it moot. He worked around a one-out walk to slam the door on the Padres and seal the 5–2 victory.

What Went Right for the Rockies

Pitching

Austin Gomber gave the Rockies a Quality Start, his first since July 6 against the Kansas City Royals. Kinley and Vodnik each pitched an inning of scoreless relief to nail the victory down.

“He threw great. (Austin) was outstanding,” manager Bud Black said. Black said Gomber made one mistake pitch, and that was on the homer he gave up to Solano. “But he really pitched well,” Black continued. “Mix of pitches. Fastball in, fastball down and away, the good curve, the slider, the changeup (were) all working. Gomby pitched great.”

“I had four pitches working,” Gomber said. “All in all, I felt pretty good.”

Timely Hitting

After having trouble in Anaheim with runners in scoring position, the Rockies were 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position Friday against the Padres. “I felt like we were in position to score a bunch (in the sixth). But we got the hits when we needed to,” Gomber said.

Brendan Rodgers

Rodgers had three hits for the fourth time this season and the second time in the previous ten days. “Rod’s been swinging it well lately,” Gomber said. “After the All-Star Break, he’s looked more comfortable in the box, swinging it well and playing good defense.”

“It felt good,” Rodgers said of his performance. “(I got) down early in the first count, and then (Vasquez) threw me a curveball to hit. It backed up on him and stayed in the middle of the plate. I tried to stay short and hit it hard, and it ended up going out. After that — we faced him a few times this year, so I have a pretty good idea of what he’s trying to do with me.” Rodgers added that he tried to “stay short, stay compact, and put a good swing on it.”

Rodgers cracked a one-out double in the fourth, but a strong throw from Profar nearly got him at second. Only a great slide prevented it. Rodgers went into more detail about the slide: “I had a good angle. Could see the throw coming in. I know Profar got to it pretty well and made a good throw. I slid kind of early and tried to not hurt anyone. Not hurt me or Xander. I tried to dodge (the tag). He went to tag my right hand, but I had it already moving. I don’t really slide like that much — waved my right hand and snuck my left one in there.”

Kris Bryant

With his two-hit performance, Kris Bryant has now hit safely in four of his last six games. His two RBI mark three games in a row in which he has driven in at least one run. Bryant said it felt “great” to contribute. He continued, “I’m trying to tell myself that although I want to expect results right away, I have to be realistic in that I haven’t been on the field as much this year. There’s going to be some rust that I gotta knock off. But it’s definitely nice to get a big hit for the team and contribute in a good way.”

On his two-run single with the bases loaded and one out, Bryant wanted to get the ball in play early. “I thought he was gonna throw it to me up in the zone,” he recalled, “but it was middle, middle-down. It kind of fell into my swing.” He hit it off the end of the bat, which caused it to drop in front of the outfielders instead of carrying deep enough for one of them to catch it.

The Catch

OH. MY. DOYLE.

CATCH OF THE YEAR 😱 pic.twitter.com/hhBwUMdp1c

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 3, 2024

Doyle felt the catch to rob Profar of a home run in the eighth was one of the best catches of his career, but it had an even deeper meaning for him. A beaming Doyle said, “It was pretty cool, because one of my favorite players growing up was Adam Jones. He made a catch over there in the World Baseball Classic, and to kind of replicate it was pretty special to me.”

4 years ago today, Adam Jones made one of the greatest catches you’ll ever see 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/PhAitKGLlW

— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) March 18, 2021

Bryant, who had been replaced defensively when the catch happened, said that he could tell from the dugout Doyle had it the whole way. Doyle acknowledged the same. “Sometimes you get a feel like you have a good chance of getting it and catching it,” Doyle explained. “On that one, I definitely had that instinct, so I went as hard as I could and ended up coming down with the catch.”

Black said Doyle wants to make plays, adding, “A base stealer wants to steal bases, and a center fielder wants to make a play.” Doyle confirmed that sentiment when he said, “I’d rather rob a home run than hit one.”

What Went Wrong for the Rockies

Not much. This was one of the most complete victories of the season. Only two double-play groundouts, both by Diaz, kept the Rockies from having an extra-comfortable victory margin.

Injury Update

A scary incident happened in the top of the third. Rockies designated hitter Charlie Blackmon hit a one-out grounder to second. While he was running it out, the throw from Xander Bogaerts went wild. It hit Blackmon near the left wrist and deflected into his face. Blackmon went down in a heap. Swelling around his eye forced him to leave the game with what turned out to be a left eye contusion.

Blackmon spoke afterwards about the injury. When the baseball hit him, he said, “It felt like my eye exploded.” But by the time he spoke after the game, his eye felt considerably better, with him saying, “I feel pretty good.” He continued to say that he didn’t think it hit him “all that hard,” and that it could have hit him with more force. “I think I got lucky, to be honest,” he said.

Blackmon said he thinks he could play Saturday, since his vision is okay, but it will depend on how his eye “responds” when he arrives at the ballpark Saturday.

Quotes

“Charlie looks like he went—I don’t want to say he went the distance with Floyd Patterson. But he got hit in the eye. He got clocked. But he’s fine. It started swelling immediately when we were on the field. After the game, it looked like the swelling was still down from where it was when he came out of the game. We’ll see. But he’s fine. He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever had. He’ll probably want to play tomorrow. We’ll see how it is, but I think he’s gonna be fine.” — Bud Black on Charlie Blackmon’s facial injury

“I hit my funny bone pretty (well). They have these benches out there, and my hand was a little bit numb. So I was waiting for the feeling in my hand to get back.” — Brenton Doyle on why he paused before holding his glove up to show that he had the ball after robbing the homer

On the Brenton Doyle Catch

“That was impressive. He’s one of the best outfielders I’ve played with. It’s fun to watch him out there. Even while catching routine fly balls, he makes it look so easy. Robbing a home run, and the way he timed it, was like slow motion. It’s pretty impressive that he’s able to do that. And to cover the ground at Coors Field, with the huge outfield — the guy makes it look easy. I’m so glad he’s on our team.” — Kris Bryant

“He’s the best center fielder in the league for a reason, right? We’ve come to expect that the last two years. He’s a Gold Glover. He’s probably gonna win another one this year, and it probably won’t be his last. I’m definitely happy we have him on our team.” — Austin Gomber

“What a catch. We’ve seen some memorable catches last year and this year, but that ranks right up there.” — Bud Black

“That might have been one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. When (Profar) hit it, I knew it wasn’t a no-doubter, and (Doyle) got a good jump on it. I was watching him the whole time. When he leapt and was hanging in the air and then he—it was unbelievable. He makes some pretty insane plays. It’s hard to say which one is the best, but I put that one up there. It was top three, I would say.” — Brendan Rodgers

Looking Ahead

Gomber (3–7) earned the win, with Estrada (3–2) taking the loss.

The Rockies (41–70) and Padres (59–52) will play the second game of their three-game set Saturday evening. Rockies right-hander Tanner Gordon (0–3, 8.80 ERA) will be called up from the minors to take the hill against Padres lefty Martin Perez (2–5, 5.20 ERA). First pitch will be at 5:40 pm Pacific/6:40 pm Mountain.