Padres Outlast Rockies in Pitchers’ Duel

Manny Machado and David Peralta of the Padres celebrating a run against the Rockies

Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

August 3, 2024

Padres 3, Rockies 2

SAN DIEGO (Aug. 3) — A two-run seventh inning, capped by a sacrifice fly from Jackson Merrill, gave the San Diego Padres a 3–2 victory over the Colorado Rockies Saturday evening at Petco Park.

Both starting pitchers, Martin Perez for the Padres and rookie Tanner Gordon for the Rockies, were outstanding. Perez allowed one run on three hits, striking out seven without a walk across six innings. Gordon allowed one run on one hit, walking one and striking out four across six innings.

Rockies – Padres Game Summary

Both pitchers tossed perfect innings in the first and second. With one out in the top of the third, Rockies left fielder Hunter Goodman got the first hit of the game. It was a deep fly to left-center that cleared the fence for a solo home run, giving the Rockies a 1–0 lead.

The Rockies threatened to extend their lead in the top of the fifth. Catcher Elias Diaz legged out an infield single on a swinging bunt toward third. Goodman followed with his second hit of the game, a single to left-center. Right fielder Sam Hilliard hit a hard liner, but it went directly to Padres right fielder David Peralta for the side-retiring catch.

The Padres got their first baserunner in the bottom of the fifth when third baseman Manny Machado drew a leadoff walk on a full count. They got their first hit when the next batter, second baseman Xander Bogaerts, hit a rocket on the ground toward third. Ryan McMahon slid to his left to make a tough play, but the ball clanked off his glove and into left. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by center fielder Jackson Merrill. It paid off when Peralta followed with a run-scoring grounder to second, tying the game at 1–1.

Breaking the Tie

The Padres took the lead in the seventh off new pitcher Peter Lambert. Two hits to right — a single by first baseman Jake Cronenworth and double by Machado — put runners on second and third for Bogaerts. His single to left plated Cronenworth and gave the Padres the lead. A sacrifice fly to deep left by center fielder Jackson Merrill brought in Machado for an insurance run. After a grounder to second by Peralta, shortstop Ha-Seong Kim lined to left. It ended the inning, but not before the Padres took a 3–1 lead.

Left-hander Tanner Scott, the NL Reliever of the Month for July, took the mound to pitch the top of the eighth for the Padres. With one out, pinch-hitter Jacob Stallings belted a solo homer to left, cutting the deficit to 3–2. New Rockies pitcher Angel Chivilli pitched around a one-out single in the bottom of the eighth to hold the Padres scoreless.

Padres closer Robert Suarez took the hill for the top of the ninth. The first hitter he faced, Brenton Doyle, hit a bouncer near the line at third. Machado made a great play to reach it and fired across the diamond. The throw went wide, but Cronenworth came off the bag to his left to scoop the ball. Doyle tried to hurdle the swipe tag, but Cronenworth got him on the shin from underneath. The play drew a roar from the sellout crowd, and the roar continued as McMahon struck out and Toglia grounded out on a broken-bat grounder to second.

What Went Right for the Rockies

Starting Pitching

Tanner Gordon was terrific, taking a perfect game into the fifth and giving the Rockies a Quality Start in his fourth major league appearance. According to Stathead, Gordon is the third Rockie in history to allow one hit or fewer through six or more innings in a game within his first four career starts. This was also the 17th time in Rockies history that a starting pitcher has tossed at least six innings and allowed two baserunners or fewer. Additionally, Gordon became the first Rockie in history to allow two baserunners or fewer through six innings at Petco Park.

Hunter Goodman

Goodman went 2-for-3 with a homer and an RBI. It was his second multi-hit game of the road trip, having gone 2-for-3 against the San Francisco Giants July 28. The first hit was the homer that gave the Rockies the lead.

Goodman said of the home run, “My approach going into the at-bat was looking for something up. (Perez) has a good changeup and curveball, and he likes to work down in the zone. He got ahead with the cutter and then threw a changeup that I swung at down. I had to back out, take a deep breath, and get back to the plan for a fastball up in the zone. Then I was able to put a good swing on it.”

Jacob Stallings

Stallings brought the Rockies back within a run with his eighth-inning home run. It was his second pinch-homer of the season, with the first coming May 24 to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Black said, “Stallings has had good numbers against lefties all year. And Stallings has shown a little bit of pop this year with a couple of pinch-hit opportunities, so it was something that we had in our back pocket.”

What Went Wrong for the Rockies

The Seventh Inning

Peter Lambert struggled with the first three hitters in the bottom of the seventh. He gave up two runs on three hits and a sacrifice fly, giving the Padres their victory margin.

“We have a lot of faith in Peter to come in and put a zero up or two,” Black said. “But Peter just got the ball up to Cronenworth and got the ball up to Bogaerts.”

Martin Perez

The Rockies had a difficult time handling Padres starter Martin Perez, only managing three hits against the left-hander. Black said of Perez, “Veteran pitcher. Changed speeds a lot like Gordon. Fastball in and out, changeup down, breaking ball both sides. He pitched.”

Looking Ahead

Jason Adam (5–2) notched the win, and Peter Lambert (2–5) took the loss, both in relief. Robert Suarez earned his 24th save of the season.

The Rockies and Padres will wrap up their three-game series Sunday afternoon. Rockies right-hander Cal Quantrill (7–7, 4.50 ERA) will face Padres right-hander Matt Waldron (6–9, 3.89 ERA). First pitch will be at 1:10 pm Pacific/2:10 pm Mountain.