Padres vs. Rockies: Bad luck in Coors Field

The San Diego Padres lost three games in a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies.

The Padres have only won one out of their last 14 games played at Coors Field, the Rockies’ home stadium. The Rockies have struggled all season. They have been close to the bottom of the National League West division all season long, along with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies’ season struggles did not matter in this series as the Padres’ recent unlucky lack of success at Coors Field continued.

The first game of the series was the only good game for the Padres in this series. There was certainly no shortage of home runs hit in this game. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth, third baseman Manny Machado and shortstop C.J. Abrams all hit home runs in this game. Both Cronenworth and Machado hit solo shots, while Abrams hit a three-run bomb in the top of the eighth inning. Abrams’ home run put the Padres up 6-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. 

Relief pitcher Nabil Crismatt gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. This changed the score to 6-3. Closing pitcher Taylor Rogers almost blew the save for the Padres. He gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Luckily, the Padres’ three-run lead was just enough to cushion to allow the Padres to win this game 6-5.

The next game of the series was the start of the disappointment for the Padres.

The game started out well, as starting pitcher Mike Clevinger pitched four straight shutout innings. Unfortunately, things went downhill starting in the fifth inning. Clevinger gave up four runs in the fifth and sixth innings. He was then pulled from the game without getting to finish the sixth inning. 

The Padres’ offense was mostly lackluster throughout the game until the eighth inning. Right fielder Nomar Mazara and center fielder Esteury Ruiz both hit RBI singles to make the score a close 5-3. Unfortunately, the Padres were unable to get anything going other than that, so the score stayed the same at the end.

The next game in the series started out about the same as the previous game did.

The Padres had a three-run lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning. Unfortunately, things went bad from there. 10 runs were given up by Padres pitching in thr next four innings. Starting pitcher Joe Musgrove struggled after pitching four shutout innings. Musgrove gave up five runs in the fifth and sixth innings before being pulled without even recording an out in the sixth inning. 

The lineup for the Padres certainly was not the problem in this game. Everyone in the lineup recorded a hit except for center fielder Trent Grisham. Cronenworth recorded his ninth home run and 47th RBI of the season.

The next and final game of the series was another disappointing one, except the disappointment started earlier than the fifth inning. Pitcher Blake Snell started this game and gave up five runs in three ⅔ innings. The game was actually tied 5-5 going into the sixth inning, but Crismatt gave up three runs in less than an inning pitched. 

The Padres are still in second place in the NL West. However, they are now nine games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the division. They are still in the second NL Wild Card spot behind the Atlanta Braves and over the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Padres will look to rebound in their upcoming series against the Diamondbacks.