For the first time since September 2024, the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Diego Padres in San Diego. Behind an excellent pitching performance and a pair of home runs in the fourth inning, the Rockies snapped a six-game losing streak. They now improve to 41-107, officially guaranteeing that they will not solely possess the worst record in MLB’s Modern ERA.
Early Padre Dominance
It looked to be another one of those nights for the Rockies early on at the plate. Strikeouts have been quite prevalent during the road trip,
and for the first three innings, JP Sears looked nearly unhittable. Sears recorded seven strikeouts through the first three innings and walked just one. The Rockies wouldn’t record their first hit until the fourth inning (more on that inning in a second) before they eventually drove Sears from the game in the fifth inning. He allowed four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts.
The Padres’ bullpen really settled in after that, with Ron Marinaccio tossing three scoreless innings, followed by a scoreless appearance by Wandy Peralta.
The Rockies ended up with nine hits against the Padres’ pitching, with 11 strikeouts and just one walk.
Breakout inning
Hunter Goodman kicked off the fourth inning with a single, the Rockies’ first hit of the game. Jordan Beck then followed suit with a single to left field. Brenton Doyle moved the runners up with a pristine sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position.
Unfortunately, things looked dire after Ezequiel Tovar struck out for the second out of the inning, threatening another result in which the Rockies squandered a run-scoring opportunity.
Enter Blaime Crim.
Making his Rockies debut, Crim had made 12 appearances with the Texas Rangers at the big league level before getting claimed by the Rockies. His minor league season has been quite solid in the Pacific Coast League, highlighted by his immense power.
On the first pitch he saw from Sears in the fourth, Crim crushed a hanging 82 mph sweeper that was belt high, sending it to left-center field into the second deck to put the Rockies ahead 3-1.
It was his first big league hit, already a momentous occasion, but it also snapped a scoreless streak of 41 2/3 innings for the Rockies in San Diego dating back to the tail end of the 2024 season.
Moments later, Kyle Farmer jumped on the very next pitch from Sears, sending the ball to center field to go back-to-back with Crim and give the Rockies a 4-1 lead.
Gordon’s Game
After allowing a first-inning home run to Manny Machado, Tanner Gordon delivered an exquisite performance on the mound. Following Machado’s home run, Gordon proceeded to retire the next 16 consecutive batters until Luis Arraez singled in the top of the seventh.
Gordon didn’t record an out in the inning, exiting the game after walking Machado, but it was still an excellent start more akin to what he had done in the second half of August. He ended up going six innings, allowing just one run on two hits with nine strikeouts and one walk.
Bullpen high anxiety
Juan Mejia relieved Gordon in the seventh and escaped by retiring the Padres in order that he faced with two men on. However, things got a little hairy the following inning as the first two men of the inning reached via a single and a walk.
Not wanting to play with fire, manager Warren Schaeffer turned to Jimmy Herget to put out the fire. Like clockwork, Herget induced a groundball double play. Now, with a runner on third, Herget had to face down Fernando Tatis Jr.
As he has done time and time again this season, Herget escaped the inning after he dispatched Tatis Jr. on three pitches, striking him out on a curveball done and well away.
Things got a little more exciting at the bottom of the nice as Victor Vodnik entered to try and secure the save. Machado singled with one out, followed by a Gavin Sheets double to put two men in scoring position. Ramón Laureano hit a ground ball for the second out that scored a run to narrow the lead 4-2. Jackson Merrill then managed a walk to bring the winning run to the plate but Vodnik punched out Ryan O’Hearn to secure his eighth save of the year.
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