Xander Bogaerts hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning, and Martín Pérez pitched six solid innings in his debut for the San Diego Padres. The Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Saturday night, ending a five-game losing streak against the last-place Rockies.
The Padres have won 10 of their last 13 games since the All-Star break. They had just come off a two-game home sweep of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers before losing 5-2 to the Rockies on Friday night.
After being held to one run and one hit in six innings by rookie Tanner Gordon, the Padres managed to score against reliever Peter Lambert (2-5) in the seventh inning.
Jake Cronenworth led off with a single, Manny Machado doubled, and Bogaerts singled to left field to give the Padres a 2-1 lead. Rookie Jackson Merrill then added a sacrifice fly.
Bogaerts said, “It started off the same. The guy was throwing good, a young guy, and got to the bullpen and got some guys on base. We started a nice rally once we got to the bullpen.”
Rockies pinch hitter Jacob Stallings hit a home run with one out in the eighth inning off All-Star Tanner Scott, who was making his Padres debut after being acquired from Miami on Tuesday. This home run ended Scott’s scoreless streak of 17 2/3 innings since June 17.
Pérez allowed the Rockies one run and three hits, struck out seven, and walked none. His only major mistake was giving up a home run to Hunter Goodman with one out in the third inning.
Pérez said, “It was awesome to go out there and do my job and we scored runs and we won the game. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to help the team win.”
He added, “The support I have from my teammates is awesome. It makes me feel comfortable and makes me feel like I was here before.
That’s really good and mentally I’m good. I think this is just the start. We’ve got to keep doing our things and we’re going to have a good future for the last two months.”
It was the first time this season that the Padres started a left-handed pitcher in their 112th game. Manager Mike Shildt said, “Loved his pace, his control. Good rhythm what he was doing. Everything was for quality strikes.”
Shildt added, “It took a second to get adjusted to seeing a left-hander start a game. He was fantastic and very efficient.” The game lasted just 1 hour and 59 minutes.
Shildt mentioned, “We were talking about the fifth or sixth, like we went back in time for a second. We had guys that were really working quick, hitting their spots.”
Jason Adam (5-2) pitched the seventh inning to get the win, and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his 24th save.
Rookie Tanner Gordon, making his fourth start, was perfect through four innings. The Padres finally got baserunners when Gordon walked Manny Machado leading off the fifth inning and allowed a single to Xander Bogaerts. Jackson Merrill had a sacrifice bunt, and David Peralta’s groundout brought in Machado to tie the game at 1.
Gordon came into the game with a 0-3 record and an 8.80 ERA. He made his major league debut on July 7 against Kansas City at Coors Field. He was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque earlier in the day.
