Padres sweep Rockies in doubleheader to cap disappointing day

This day in baseball history was not exactly written on the field itself. It will instead be remembered as one of the wildest trade deadline days ever — while the Rockies just happened to play 18 innings against the franchise that took the most action.

There was baseball to be played today, and some high spirits in San Diego have set the table for Juan Soto’s imminent arrival. The main event of the series may not have happened yet, but here is where the landscape stands before then:

Game 1: Padres 13, Rockies 5

There was no shortage of offense in Game 1 by the Padres. With only 11 true hitters available, San Diego was able to combine for 19 hits.

After a sixth-inning leadoff single by Trent Grisham, the Padres held a win probability above 80% for the remainder of Game 1. The Rockies were able to swing that scale as high as 90.3% in their own favor (9.7% for San Diego), so this was far from a traditional lopsided affair:

Feltner chased in the fourth

Rockies starter Ryan Feltner was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque this morning for the second time in the past calendar week. After a stellar three-inning relief appearance against the Dodgers on Friday, his 3 ²⁄₃-inning start this afternoon was not ideal for only the first leg of a doubleheader.

He was able to evade damage early, dancing around a bases-loaded jam in the first inning (2 H, 1 BB). Feltner’s second inning featured one baserunner stranded on first, and a similar third inning featured two strikeouts.

The biggest damage would follow: in the fourth, Wil Myers led off with a line drive single to right. A one-out double by Ha-seong Kim advanced Mazara to third, and the Padres were on the board with an Austin Nola sac fly and Trent Grisham home run.

Feltner would stick around for one more batter after the game-tying homer, a two-out single to Jurickson Profar. Over the course of his six batters in the fourth, San Diego’s win probability shifted by 32.3%.

Feltner’s final line: 3 ²⁄₃ IP, 8 H, 3 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 3 K

Darvish carves, two pitches aside

San Diego’s Yu Darvish had completed seven innings in each of his last four starts entering today. He came three outs shy of that mark today, but his seven punchouts suggested his stuff was definitely there.

A perfect top of the first was followed by a leadoff walk by Brendan Rodgers in the second. A center-cut mistake by Darvish was then capitalized on by Randal Grichuk:

Yonathan Daza would reach in that frame with a two-out double, but was stranded in scoring position. Darvish would later retire all three batters he faced in the third inning.

Brendan Rodgers would then have his way on another misplaced pitch:

A walk to Grichuk followed. A single by Ryan McMahon pushed more traffic on the basepaths.

At this point, things were looking exceptional for Colorado. With an early 3-0 lead, runners were on second and third with no outs. This was the Rockies’ win probability peak (90.3%).

Darvish struck out the next three batters.

The right-hander retired six of the final seven he faced.

Darvish’s final line: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 7 K

San Diego’s Profar, Kim record nine combined hits

5-for-6 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored: leadoff hitter Jurickson Profar served as both the table setter and the cashier in the Padres’ run department.

Ha-seong Kim anchored the seventh spot of the Padres’ order, going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI of his own. An eighth-inning triple by Kim pushed across the Padres 12th run of the day, and their 13th and final run was scored by Kim on an RBI groundout.

Five Rockies record multiple hits

Rodgers and Grichuk provided the firepower by way of home runs, but the most Rockies hits on the afternoon belonged to José Iglesias, going 3-for-5 with a double. (It’s safe to reason he was unaffected by any trade talk that may have come his way this morning.)

C.J. Cron went 2-for-5 with a double of his own, while Yonathan Daza went 2-for-4 with two doubles. Both Ryan McMahon (2-for-4) and Brendan Rodgers (2-for-3) rounded out the multi-hit crew.

Bullpen wavers in early set

Jake Bird (2 ¹⁄₃ IP, 4 H, 4 R), Robert Stephenson (²⁄₃ IP, 2 H, 2 R) and Ty Blach (1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 5 H, 4 R) had some forgettable outings in Game 1. The Rockies didn’t have to pitch the bottom of the ninth, which served as a small silver lining with nine more innings left on the day.

No Hader needed

A shaky inning by Padres reliever Nabil Crismatt (1 IP, 4 H, 2 R) brought the Rockies within two runs at the seventh-inning stretch, but the Rockies bullpen would surrender enough runs for the opposing Tim Hill (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R) and Michel Baez (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R) to close it out in low-leverage work. Josh Hader remained in the bullpen, awaiting his Padres debut.

★ ★ ★

Game 2: Padres 3, Rockies 2:

The Rockies would need to bounce back in the nightcap to avoid a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Paders. Despite some early offense and strong pitching performances, they were unable to collect the win and instead suffered their first doubleheader sweep of the season, dropping their fourth straight game and losing the seventh of their last 10.

A hot start

Both starting pitchers, Reiss Knehr and José Ureña, began the game in trouble but quickly settled in. Knehr allowed two runs in the top of the first by way of a Ryan McMahon double and subsequent balk, while the Padres responded with two tallies of their own in the bottom of the frame with sacrifice flies.

It seemed that we were in for another high-scoring contest similar to game one, but both pitchers were able to settle down and record solid outings. Ureña in particular looked far more comfortable as the game went on: after allowing two walks and a hit in the first frame, he’d allow just two hits and a walk through the next three innings.

Ureña’s outing wasn’t as long as he would have liked, but he did enough to hand things off to Austin Gomber with the game still tied.

The Gomber-nator and Hilliard-man

With Ureña’s early exit after just four innings, Austin Gomber entered the game needing to eat some innings and keep things close. He did that and more, looking like a terminator as he mowed down the Padres lineup with ease, retiring the first seven batters he faced. That was in part to some sterling defense, such as Sim Hilliard’s robbery of Manny Machado’s sure double in the bottom of the fifth.

Hilliard flew through the air like Superman to make a phenomenal diving play to get the out for the Rockies:

Gomber worked 2 ²⁄₃ innings, looking sharp and keeping the San Diego bats guessing as he used his curveball masterfully. His outing got a tad hairy in the bottom of the seventh, however; after not allowing a single Padre to reach base, two walks and a hit loaded the bases and knocked Gomber out of the game.

Lucas Gilbreath was able to end the threat, striking out Jake Cronenworth to keep the game square at two runs a side.

What a Hader

In the top of the ninth, the game remained at the same 2-2 score as it had eight innings ago.

Enter Josh Hader, making his San Diego debut to face the bottom of Colorado’s batting order.

Elehuris Montero, Garrett Hampson, and Sam Hilliard were no match for the wipeout lefty, and Hader’s first inning with his new team was exactly what Padres fans were hoping for.

A late-night launch for the loss

It was then up to Alex Colomé — who many had thought may no longer be in a Rockies uniform after today — to preserve the tie and get the game to extra innings. Instead, Trent Grisham took his full-count hanger over the right field wall to end the game at 3-2.

The first and only home run Colomé has allowed this season was the defining shot that secured San Diego’s doubleheader sweep of the Rockies.

It was the end to a very tough day in Rockies baseball lore.

Up Next:

San Diego currently has the old-fashioned ‘TBD’ listed for their Wednesday starter, while the Rockies will turn to Chad Kuhl in game four of this five-game set. Eyes will be fixed to the starting lineup announcements on Wednesday with the impending Padres debut of Brandon Drury and that Soto guy.

We’ve got another West Coast night game on our hands for Wednesday; first pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. MST (6:40 p.m. PST). See you then!