SAN DIEGO – A big early lead nearly vanished, but the San Diego Padres got a pair of runs late to hold off the Colorado Rockies 9-6 and take the four-game series on Sunday afternoon.
Jackson Merrill tied his career-high with four RBIs, highlighted by his three-run home run in the second inning, as San Diego (82-68) put up three runs in each of the first two innings. Encinitas-born Mickey Moniak hit a pair of home runs with a career-best five RBIs, but Colorado (41-109) never led and trailed after 50 of 63 innings at Petco Park in the season series.
“I’ve been very, very pleased with the consistency of the at bats. The approach has been really good, the consistency has been really good, the court awareness has been really good relative to a situation that matches the approach,” said manager Mike Shildt before praising Merrill and Jake Cronenworth collecting hits with bunts. “We love to slug, but like to do all the little things that come with it.”
After scoring the first seven runs of the game, the Padres watched as the Rockies clawed all the way back to within a run. But Mason McCoy led off the eighth with a double and Fernando Tatis Jr. collected his third hit of the day and would steal second for his 30th swipe of the season, then Gavin Sheets hit an elevated fastball to right-center for a two-out, two RBI double off reliever Jimmy Herget.
With the win, San Diego’s magic number to qualify for the 2025 Postseason is now seven.
The Padres offense had picked up right where it left off at the start, only instead of doing damage with the big fly it was small ball their first time up that plated the initial three runs. The long ball would come an inning later, as the Brown and Gold scored in each of the first three innings.
Tatis singled through the left side on the first pitch from starter Germán Márquez, then Merrill dropped down the first of two bunts for hits in the inning. After Ryan O’Hearn drew a two-out walk, Cronenworth dropped a picture-perfect RBI squeeze bunt down the third base line, then Jose Iglesias followed up with a two-RBI single back up the middle.
“That’s how it starts, that’s what we need as an offense and especially moving forward to the playoffs. That’s what we need from the boys, everybody getting on the right spot and creating momentum to get hot and take that step to the playoffs,” Tatis said.
In the second Merrill added his third home run of the series by driving a low and away sinker opposite field for a three-run blast after McCoy led off the inning by reaching on an error and Tatis slapped a grounder to right field.
“One through 14 the team is loaded, if some of your top three guys, and (Ramón) Laureano and Gavin and (O’Hearn) all combine together, that’s when I think we’re best,” Merrill said.
The lone run of the third came when Freddy Fermin drove in Cronenworth after the second baseman and Iglesias led off the inning. San Diego loaded the bases, before reliever Roansy Contreras came on and induced an inning-ending double play.
Yu Darvish was solid through five innings of work to earn his fourth win, allowing five hits and no walks to go with five strikeouts, with his lone mistake being taken deep to right field by Moniak in the fourth. He would ultimately be charged with three runs, as Darvish plunked the leadoff man and allowed a hit to start the sixth.
“I thought (Darvish) was really, really good. Five innings outside of Moniak — man, nice ballgame Mickey — outside of the swing there he was in complete control and in the 70s, and felt great to go back out for the sixth,” Shildt said. “He felt really good, which is most important, and I thought he looked great. Velocity was there, ball was going where he wanted, spin, slower curveball, I thought he was tremendous.”
Jeremiah Estrada allowed the three-run shot by Moniak, who ambushed his first-pitch fastball and hit it out to right-center field as it was the only hit allowed by the Padres reliever to go with a walk and two strikeouts. The bullpen continued to leak an inning later when Adrian Morejon allowed an RBIs to Ezequiel Tovar on a double and Moniak on a single, conceding two runs on three hits before being lifted after ⅔ an inning.
Mason Miller got the final out of the seventh, then sent down Colorado in order as he threw 1 ⅓ innings with three strikeouts. Robert Suarez would earn his 38th save by striking out three.
Manny Machado was given an off day, and Luis Arraez was “still sore” after being hit on the cheek by an errant throw while taking the field between innings on Saturday evening and did not play. According to Shildt, Arraez later said he was available if needed, but the team decided to keep him out and continue to evaluate him, though the manager said there was “a good chance” Arraez would be ready for Tuesday depending on how he travels.
“All that matters is winning. For me to get a day off, I had confidence in the team that they were going to go out there and perform, leave it all out there and they did that,” Machado said. “To sit back and watch a game was pretty fun.”
After an off-day on Monday, the Padres begin their final regular season road trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets, who snapped an eight-game losing streak on a Pete Alonzo walk-off home run in extra innings earlier in the day.
Michael King (4-2, 2.87 ERA) is slated to get the start on Tuesday against the Mets’ Clay Holmes (11-8, 3.75 ERA), with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m. Pacific at Citi Field.
This story was updated at 5:17 p.m.