Deadspin | Padres seek to avoid stumbling vs. Rockies again Trending Global News

In May, the San Diego Padres welcomed the Colorado Rockies after winning a weekend series from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Diego, which looked poised to win again, lost all three games.

The Padres will again host the Rockies on Friday night, this time coming off a two-game sweep against Los Angeles that left them 4 1/2 games behind the leading Dodgers in the National League West.

Can the Padres continue their recent performance – nine wins in 10 games – or will they once again lose to a second-division team?

“Every game we play is very important,” said San Diego pitcher Dylan Cease, who has won his last four starts and allowed just one run in his last 27 2/3 innings. “We need to keep that same focus and intensity every game.”

That means beating bad teams as well as good ones. San Diego has won four consecutive series, three of them against first-place clubs (the Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles and Dodgers). To keep the momentum going, the Padres can’t take Colorado and its 40-70 record lightly.

“Our goals haven’t changed at any point during the season,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Our goal is to win the division. We know it’s a tough job and a competitive division, so we’re just playing and doing our job.”

Randy Vasquez (3-6, 4.82 ERA) will handle the ball for the Padres in the series opener, hoping to bounce back from a poor start in Sunday’s 8-6 loss at Baltimore. Vasquez lasted just over two innings, giving up six runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

The right-hander has faced the Rockies twice in his career, both times this season, and he has a 0-1 record against them and an ERA of 12.79.

On April 25 at Denver, Vasquez pitched just 2 2/3 innings and gave up four runs but got a no-decision. On May 13 at San Diego, the Rockies held him to five runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings and Colorado won 5-4.

San Diego looks to continue playing until October, while Colorado has 52 games left to play. The Rockies are 2-5 on a 10-game West Coast trip after winning 5-4 in 10 innings over the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday night.

Jake Cave forced extra innings with a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth, and an error on Sam Hilliard’s sacrifice bunt in the 10th brought in the winning run.

Left-hander Austin Gomber (2-7, 4.79 E.R.A.) will make his third start of the year against the Padres, and he has pitched well in the first two games.

On April 22, Gomber allowed just one run in five innings in a no-decision, and then pitched six scoreless innings, giving up just two hits, in an 8–0 victory on May 15.

Most recently, Gomber allowed three runs, six hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings against the host San Francisco Giants on Sunday. He had six strikeouts after throwing 85 pitches and the Giants won the game, 5-4.

Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and center fielder Brenton Doyle were both in great form before losing 0-5 on Thursday.

Tovar saw his career-best 17-game hitting streak come to an end. Doyle hit 11 homers in July, tying Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics for the most in the majors, but he went hitless in three starts at the start of August.

Colorado manager Bud Black said Doyle deserved to be the NL Player of the Month.

“It’s a great sign of stability and confidence,” Black said. “Know that your talent will get you out (of a slump).”

–Field Level Media