Confident Clevinger, powerful Profar push Padres to win over Rockies
Aug 1, 2022; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Mike Clevinger (52) throws a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Jurickson Profar’s third home run in as many days and seven strong innings from Mike Clevinger pushed the San Diego Padres to a win over the Colorado Rockies.
Profar took Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela’s second pitch of the game deep, immediately vaulting the Padres into the lead. Manny Machado doubled, and Jake Cronenworth followed up with a walk as the Padres offense jumped on Senzatela early. Wil Myers, who returned from a lengthy IL stint, brought Machado home with an RBI groundout. Nomar Mazara hit a sharp single off the first base bag to score Cronenworth, putting the Padres up three.
Neither team could produce much on offense from there, with Mike Clevinger comprehensively dominating the Rockies. Charlie Blackmon was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, but Clevinger did not let that rattle him. He gave up just one run in seven innings, allowing five hits and striking out six Rockies. It was Clevinger’s second consecutive start of seven innings, and he’s allowed just four runs in his last 20 innings on the mound. Clevinger said, “I feel like I’ve hit a bit of a stride, and I’ve put some injuries behind me.”.
The Rockies scored their only run on a sacrifice fly from Brendan Rogers in the sixth, but Clevinger still kept his cool, comfortably striking out Randal Grichuk and Ryan McMahon to end the inning.
San Diego recorded just two hits in the final five innings that Senzatela worked, as he settled into the game well. Profar stayed hot with a double, while Myers put together his first hit since May 28. The single was the Padres’ hardest-hit ball of the night, coming off the bat at 107.3 miles per hour. Myers also returned to the lineup as a first baseman, his first start in the infield since 2020.
Trent Grisham’s 11th home run of the season came in the seventh, handing the Padres an insurance run. Grisham was the second batter that Carlos Estévez worked, as the Padres were delighted to have Senzatela removed from the game.
The Padres put two runners on base in the eighth as Rockies reliever Jordan Sheffield struggled with control. However, Luke Voit was picked off, the second runner to be picked off in the game for the Padres. San Diego missed the opportunity to add on.
The recently acquired Josh Hader was not available for manager Bob Melvin, as he is due to arrive sometime on Tuesday. Melvin turned to Nick Martinez, who was making his return from the paternity list. Martinez’s wife, Kimberly Cobian, gave birth to their daughter, Stella, and he returned to enter in the eighth. He worked 1.1 innings, striking out two batters, but he was removed from the game with the tying run at the plate in the ninth.
Melvin turned to Luis Garcia, who looked to pick up his second consecutive save. Garcia quickly recorded two outs to end the threat, but after working back-to-back days, he may be unavailable for the doubleheader tomorrow, which could prove costly. It would be interesting to see who would appear in a save situation if Garcia is unable to appear and Hader is not yet in San Diego.
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The Padres roster may look very different after their games’ tomorrow, with rumors aplenty about possible trades involving Juan Soto, Ian Happ, Willson Contreras, and more, but the roster they had made it work on Monday.
They’ll play a scheduled doubleheader tomorrow, with Yu Darvish penciled in to start the first game. There currently is not a pitcher lined up to start Game Two.
The Padres pitchers did not walk any batters, while their hitters drew five walks, proving crucial to seal the victory.
Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.