Padres’ 9th inning magic leads to series victory in Denver
Credit: USA Today
In a wild contest, San Diego scored five runs in the 9th inning to stun the Rockies at Coors Field
The San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies battled in the rubber match at Coors Field on Thursday afternoon. The Padres took Game 1, Colorado dominated Game 2, and then the Padres used some late-inning magic to earn the hard-fought series victory.
The Padres are never out of it. In a game that seemed like they would not string together enough hits to win, they do just that in the final inning to stun the home crowd in Denver. The Friars did the same thing against the Seattle Mariners last week.
“We felt like we had a lot of chances during the game, even though we were down, it felt like we were in the game,” manager Craig Stammen said postgame. “All of a sudden, Coors Field shows up in the ninth inning and gives us one today.”
Ryan Feltner started for the Rockies while Matt Waldron toed the slab for the Friars.
The Rockies jumped out to an early lead. Mickey Moniak, the La Costa Canyon alum, smashed a moonshot to right field for the first hit and run of the game. That was his seventh home run of the season. The local rising star has quickly become the best hitter on the Rockies.
7th of the year for Mickey ‼️ pic.twitter.com/0yX9Bqsuf5
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 23, 2026
The home run was off Waldron’s sweeper, which did not sweep. He waited on the pitch as long as he could but saw it all the way and smoked it to right field. Colorado led 1-0 after the 1st.
For the first time in this series, the Padres had the first two batters on base to begin the inning. Manny Machado roped his hardest hit of the 2026 season to right field, followed by a walk to Xander Bogaerts. Miguel Andujar, who DH’d on Thursday, roped a double off the left-field wall to score both runs. SD led 2-1 with zero outs in the inning.
Double trouble. pic.twitter.com/Q6nrnx8ViP
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 23, 2026
The second time up for the Rockies is where things got really bad for Waldron. After recording the first two outs of the inning, Waldron allowed five consecutive hits and then a walk before he got out of the jam. The Rockies plated four runs to take a 5-2 lead. Waldron caught too much of the plate to a rising Rockies’ lineup, and they seriously made him pay. His knuckleball, sweeper, and fastball did not threaten the opponents at all.
For someone who is on an extremely short leash, Waldron did not take advantage of his opportunity with the Padres. With Lucas Giolito likely coming up in a few weeks after his free agent signing, it makes sense that either Waldron or Walker Buehler would be sent down. At some point, they both will, with Griffin Canning returning from injury soon as well.
The Padres attempted to respond right away, as they did in the second inning. Colorado replaced Feltner with Zach Agnos. Ramon Laureano walked, and Fernando Tatis Jr. reached on an error from Ezequiel Tovar. What happened next was extremely head-scratching. Jackon Merrill, who is hitting 3rd for the Friars, laid down a bunt to move the runners over, harming the momentum the team could have earned. A struggling Manny Machado followed and hit a routine grounder to the pitcher for the second out. Bogaerts would then walk for the second time before Andujar flew out to center to end the inning.
Instead of giving himself a chance to drive in a run, Merrill likely made the sacrifice himself for one of two reasons: to give his teammate Manny a chance with two runners in scoring position to motivate a struggling hitter, or the second being that it was a great way of driving in two runs early in the game. The issue, however, was that the game was in just the third inning, and Merrill is in the 3-hole for a reason, because he is a clutch hitter. You do not want to see your 3-hitter sacrificing his at-bat with two players on early in the game, especially at a venue like Coors Field, when many runs are expected to score.
Genuinely in awe of that Jackson Merrill bunt
— Devine Sports Gospel (@DevineGospel) April 23, 2026
Merrill is the least selfish player in the sport, and you have to respect every decision he makes, even if it doesn’t turn out to be the right one. Hindsight is always 20/20, but the hope is that Merrill isn’t sacrificing at-bats unless it’s late in the game and the Padres need only one run.
As the game progressed, both teams continued to hit. That was expected heading into this game. You hardly ever see a 1-0 win at Coors, as you saw in the series opener. This game was the opposite.
In the 4th inning, the Padres trimmed the 3-run deficit by scoring a run thanks to hits from Jake Cronenworth and Laureano. Jake McCarthy misplayed a ball in centerfield, and Laureano was rewarded with a triple. The damage would end there as Tatis Jr. struck out swinging for the second time.
In the bottom half, Tyler Freeman laid down a sac-bunt, leading to the Rockies’ sixth run of the game. Waldron had allowed eight hits, three walks, and six earned runs in four innings. Stammen wanted to save the bullpen as long as he could. Funny enough, Waldron’s best inning came in the 5th as he had a clean inning for the only time in this contest.
Bogaerts did everything he could to keep the Padres in the game. He smashed a solo homer to left field to make the score 6-4, and he had yet to get out in this game to this point. He came up clutch again in the 9th inning.
Adrian Morejon relieved Waldron and allowed a home run to Moniak for his second of the game. According to Mark Grant, that was the second home run by a left-handed hitter against Morejon in the last five seasons. Colorado added another run to make it 8-4.
San Diego was given an opportunity in the 8th inning, and Laureano drove in a run with an opposite-field hit. Every at-bat mattered. However, Tatis Jr. struck out swinging to end the 8th inning. It’s been a brutal start to the season for the star right fielder, and while the advanced metrics are on his side, the results are not. At some point, something needs to change.
You look over to the other dugout and see Moniak with four hits and two home runs in this contest. He’s making things look very easy at the moment. Tatis Jr. is capable of doing the same; we all have witnessed it.
The 9th inning is when the Padres’ magic happened. They scored five runs without even registering an out. It all started with a walk by Merrill. Machado followed with a single, and then Bogaerts drove in a run with another hit. Andujar followed with his third RBI of the game, and then a special moment happened.
On his birthday, Gavin Sheets pinch-hit for Ty France and wasted no time swinging on the first pitch, sending it deep to right field and over the fence. The Padres led 10-8.
THE BIRTHDAY BOY!!! pic.twitter.com/RPYq1Bu8yN
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 23, 2026
Minutes later, the Padres fans at Coors Field sang happy birthday to Sheets in the dugout.
“That’s pretty good, that’s a great way to start off your birthday there,” Sheets said to Don and Mud postgame.
When asked if he had hit a home run on his birthday before, he responded with: “I have one time in college, but it does not top this, that is for sure.”
Mason Miller came in to close the game with a 2-run lead in the 9th. He earned his 9th save of the season.
The Padres will now travel to Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú in Mexico City for two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-backs will be the home team for the two games, and it’s expected to be a high-scoring affair. Maybe Tatis Jr. and Machado can finally break out in Mexico City.
German Marquez will start for SD, and Zac Gallen starts for Arizona.
Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.