DENVER — The Padres are rolling. With their 9-2 victory Thursday afternoon over the Colorado Rockies, San Diego could clinch it’s fifth postseason berth since 2020 as early as Sunday.
The Friars used an eventful second inning at Coors Field to score seven runs off Rox starter Tanner Gordon, sending 11 men to the plate. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts served as a catalyst for the rest of the Padre lineup by launching a 441 foot homer and hitting a triple past right fielder Zac Veen in the frame.
Bogaerts ended his day 3-for-5 with two RBIs, but fell a single shy of hitting for the cycle.
“This was a big game for us,” Bogaerts said. “I mean, every game is big. Take one at a time, but this was definitely one that, knowing this ballpark, things can get tricky.”
As an offense, San Diego pounded out 29 runs and 52 hits across the four-game set in Colorado. Seven of their nine starters collected at least one hit Thursday while collectively going 5-for-13 with RISP.
Michael King, who started the series finale for the Padres, completed six innings while surrendering just two runs while striking out six hitters.
King started his outing by allowing back-to-back hits, a triple to outfielder Jake McCarthy and a run-scoring single to Connor Norby, but settled in nonetheless.
“Offense put up nine,” King said postgame. “Makes my job a lot easier.”
The right-hander did run into a jam in his last inning of work, loading the bases with two outs in the sixth, but would comeback to punch out outfielder Troy Johnson to cap his afternoon.
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Sep 17, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) pitches in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from King’s start, along with the club’s recent offensive outbursts, was the ability for Padres manager Craig Stammen to rest lefty Adrian Morejon and closer Mason Miller for a third consecutive day.
Yuki Matsui pitched a scoreless seventh while Griffin Canning covered the remaining two innings of Thursday’s contest.
The victory carries potential implications heading into the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
San Diego moved a full four games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final National League Wild Card spot, while moving to within a game of the Chicago Cubs, who were idle Thursday, for the NL’s no. 4 seed.
While the Padres’ “magic number” sits at six games, any combination of Padres wins, plus Dbacks losses will help close the gap on what’s been an electric playoff race coming down to the wire.
The Friars commence a three-game set against the Miami Marlins Friday at Petco Park, while Arizona hosts the New York Yankees, who still cling to faint hopes at an American League East title at Chase Field.
“Obviously we’re playing really good baseball right now,” King said. “It’s not like we take a four-game lead for granted. We still got to go take care of the Marlins now, and it’s that one-game-at-a-time mentality of win the game we’re playing, and we’ll see what’s going on after that.”