Xander Bogaerts had his best game of the season, getting three hits, while Matt Waldron pitched six innings, giving up just one run as the San Diego Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies 5-2 on Wednesday night.
“Today, my main focus was to get ahead,” said Waldron. “(Catcher Kyle Higashioka) and I worked well together, and the offense did their job. It was a great win. Hopefully, we can keep up the momentum.”
Ha-Seong Kim and Jackson Merrill each contributed two RBIs to help the Padres secure their 11th win in the last 14 meetings against the Rockies. Kim’s two hits included a lucky bloop double to right field in the first inning, which brought in the first two runs of the game and set the tone for a four-run inning.
“When (Colorado starter) Ty (Blach) is on, he’s hitting his spots,” said Rockies manager Bud Black. “But in the first inning, he didn’t. Then the baseball got him with the blooper.
Really good pitch to Kim and then it’s just the little dorker right down the right field line. That’s baseball.”
Waldron bounced back from his previous rough outing against Toronto, where he gave up five runs and seven hits in less than five innings. With four runs already scored by his team in the first inning, Waldron received much-needed run support after the Padres scored only seven runs in his previous four starts.
“Credit goes to Waldron,” praised Padres manager Mike Shildt. “He was very, very good. All pitches working. He mixed it in masterfully and had command of it. It was really filthy.”
Robert Suarez sealed the win for the Padres, earning his ninth save of the season by retiring the Rockies in order on just seven pitches.
This was Bogaerts’ second multi-hit game in the past four games, a welcome improvement considering he had been batting just .198 before Wednesday night.
This game marked the 25th consecutive game this season where the Rockies have trailed at some point, making them only the second team since 1900 to reach this milestone, joining the 1910 St. Louis Browns.
