The Rockies are zero for San Diego.
The Padres shut them out again Thursday night at Petco Park, winning 2-0 and limiting the Rockies to four hits.
On April 11-13, the Padres blanked Colorado three times at Petco, marking the first time in Rockies history that they were shut out in three consecutive games. Add in Thursday night’s game, and the Padres have outscored the Rockies 18-0 over four games at Petco in 2025.
Compounding the Rockies’ offensive woes is the fact that they were shut out, 9-0, by the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, a game in which the Rockies struck out 17 times. What did the Rockies do for an encore? They whiffed 14 times Thursday night, nine coming in the first six innings against Padres right-hander Randy Vásquez.
The Rockies (40-107) have now lost 17 of their last 20 games, and all of that talk about progress and turning the corner during the second half of the worst season in franchise history rings hollow.
“Too many strikeouts,” Colorado interim manager Warren Schaffer told reporters in San Diego. “You have to give credit where credit is due. Vasquez was good. He kept us off-balance, pitched well, mixed well, and brought his sinker back on, late, for punchouts.
“He was good (tonight), but at the end of the day, we have to put the ball in play more, especially on the road.”
First baseman Michael Toglia, called up from Triple-A Albuquerque when Warming Bernable went on the injured list, went 0 for 3 and fanned three times. In three games since being recalled, Toglia is 0 for 12 with eight Ks.
Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and designated hitter Yanquiel Fernandez also struck out three times on Thursday night.
Thursday night’s loss was, perhaps, more bitter than Wednesday’s because the Rockies received solid pitching from rookie starter McCade Brown and relievers Jaden Hill, Jimmy Herget, and Victor Vodnik.
Schaeffer called Brown’s presence on the mound “really fantastic.”
“He had good fastball command and was able to land his curveball,” Schaeffer continued. “It was a big step forward for him, and us.”
Hill, who lowered his ERA to 3.63 with 1 2/3 shutout innings that included three strikeouts, impressed Schaeffer.
“Jaden Hill was fantastic through a string of left-handed hitters,” Schaeffer said.
In his last start, Brown got the full Charlie Brown treatment. On Sept. 6 at Coors Field, the Padres knocked Brown’s socks off, scoring six runs on five hits in just 1 2/3 innings.
But Thursday night, Brown was a much better pitcher. He gave up two runs on five hits, with four strikeouts and two walks over 4 1/3 innings. It was the best of his four big-league outings.
San Diego scratched out a run in the third. Freddy Fermin hit a one-out single and took second on Brown’s wild pitch. Luis Arraez slapped a single to right field to give the Padres a 1-0 lead.
Jackson Merrill’s two-out solo home run in the fourth made it 2-0. Merrill hit Brown’s 0-1 sinker into the left-field seats for his 11th homer.
Vasquez baffled Colorado for six innings. To complement his nine strikeouts, he walked none and gave up just four hits.
Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.