The Padres head into Coors Field on Tuesday riding nine wins in their last 10 games, five straight series wins and a one-game chase of the Dodgers in the National League West. Gavin Sheets is in the mix as San Diego tries to keep the pressure on Colorado, a team that has dropped seven of its last 10 and already saw the Padres sweep a four-game set earlier this month.
That earlier trip to Petco Park was one-sided. San Diego outscored the Rockies 28-12 in the four-game sweep, and the matchup now shifts to a place where Colorado has been at least competitive, going 6-4 at home this season after splitting its most recent four-game series there. The Padres also have a clear edge in the form of recent production from key bats: Xander Bogaerts has hit.350/.435/.500 over the last two series, Fernando Tatis Jr. has driven in six runs over the last six games, and Mason Miller has been untouchable at the back of the bullpen, converting all eight save chances with a 0.00 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 11⅓ innings.
Colorado’s offense has not been completely silent. Hunter Goodman has three of the Rockies’ seven home runs over the last week and owns a 1.016 OPS in that span, while Kyle Karros has posted a 1.063 OPS and Troy Johnston a 1.028 OPS. Mickey Moniak has also been productive with a.919 OPS. But the Rockies have been dragged down by a.130/.200/.174 week from Ezequiel Tovar, and they have leaned heavily on their bullpen, with Brennan Bernardino leading the club with 11 appearances and Jimmy Herget and Jaden Hill both at 10.
The pitching matchup carries its own tension. Randy Vásquez is 1-0 with a 2.49 ERA and has won all four of his starts for San Diego, though he walked a season-high four batters over four innings of four-run ball in his last outing. Chase Dollander, at 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA, has a 23-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 19 innings out of the bullpen and gave the Padres one run in 4⅓ innings in a bulk role earlier this month before allowing one run in one inning three days later. Walker Buehler, who threw six shutout innings against Colorado at Petco Park earlier this month, carries a 4.58 ERA and has struggled at Coors Field over his career, including seven runs allowed in four innings there last season. Tomoyuki Sugano has two quality starts in four trips to the mound and gave up two runs in six innings in his no-decision against San Diego earlier this month, while Matt Waldron enters at 0-1 with a 14.73 ERA after giving up six runs in 3 ⅔ innings in his first start filling in for the injured Nick Pivetta.
The Padres do not need a perfect night to see the shape of this race. They need enough offense to support a staff that has carried them for much of the month, and enough urgency to make sure a surging start does not lose momentum in the altitude. Colorado, meanwhile, needs a cleaner game than the one it played in San Diego if it wants to stop another series from slipping away.
