The Padres headed into Friday night’s tilt with the Rockies looking to wake up their offense.

San Diego has averaged just 2.25 runs a game across their last four contests, well below their season average of 4.2. This is something that will certainly need to improve if the Padres want to make a deep run in October, especially in light of their recent struggles with starting pitching.

JP Sears was on the bump for the Padres to start the game.

Sears has struggled during his time with the Friars since being acquired from the Athletics at the trade deadline. Sears, who was viewed by many as a “throw-in” in the blockbuster trade that sent Padres #1 prospect Leo De Vries to the Athletics for Mason Miller, has posted an ERA of over seven in two of his first three starts for San Diego.

Manny Machado broke out early on Friday, giving the Padres a 1-0 lead in the first when he hammered an absolute no-doubter home run to left field, his 24th homer of the season. The Friars will hope this is the beginning of a run for Machado, who has struggled of late at the plate.

“Manny Machado has left the building” 😤 pic.twitter.com/vDstsYwttw

— MLB (@MLB) September 13, 2025

JP Sears started hot, and after walking Rockies infielder Kyle Farmer, struck out the next three batters he faced in the top of the third. Early on, it was looking like Sears could provide the Padres with the length their rotation so badly needed; however, things changed quickly.

After two singles to start off the fourth inning, Blaine Crim drilled a homer out to left-center field to give the Rockies a 3-1 lead. Sears then gave up another homer with Kyle Farmer.

With Sears struggling, Mike Shildt turned to the bullpen, calling on Ron Marinaccio to replace Sears. Marinaccio, the righty recently called up from El Paso, has been impressive in his limited time in San Diego. Friday night was no exception, with Marinaccio getting through three innings clean, keeping the game 3-1, and his ERA at 0 in 8.2 innings pitched this year.

The Padres did, however, begin to heat up in the seventh. A Luis Arraez single and a walk by Manny Machado loaded the bases with no outs; however, Rockies reliever Juan Mejia looked sharp. Mejia got Ramon Laureano to chase on back-to-back nasty sliders outside the zone. This, paired with a couple of routine pop fly outs, got Mejia and the Rockies out of the inning clean, despite the exciting start for the Friars.

More excitement followed for San Diego in the eighth, with a quick Ryan O’Hearn single leaking out to center field, putting a Padre on base to start the inning for the second inning in a row. Mejia, still on the mound for Colorado, started to look like he was losing some control, now at around 18 pitches. Mejia walked Jake Cronenworth on just five pitches, bringing the tying run to the plate once again. The Padres quickly found themselves in the same exact position as the last inning: two on base, no outs, and a pitching change.

The question was whether or not they would yet again squander their best chance to tie up the game or even take the lead.

Skipper Mike Shildt called for Will Wagner to pinch-hit for Freddy Fermin in the eighth. Wagner provided a professional at bat; however, it ended in a double play and killed the Padres’ rally, calling into question Shildt’s decision.

This left it up to Tatis, who then immediately struck out on three pitches, his fourth strikeout of the night. While Tatis has not been the superstar at the plate that fans across the show have become accustomed to seeing night in and night out, he has been an absolute pleasure to watch on defense.

The ever-so consistent Wandy Peralta went 1.2 clean innings, assisted by an incredibly athletic play by Padres interim shortstop Jake Cronenworth to save a hit. In a couple of appearances at shortstop in place of the injured Xander Bogaerts, Cronenworth has looked quite comfortable. Between Peralta and Cronenworth’s heroics, the Padres went into the bottom of the ninth down 4-1 with their best batters to come.

A single by Machado and an electric double by Gavin Sheets had Petco Park jumping in the ninth, but ultimately, the Padres fell short.

While they did not go down entirely without a fight, their offense again looked as if it took the night off, combining for just five hits against the last-place NL West Rockies.

If the Friars want any chance at an NL West title, or to even secure a playoff spot down the line, these are the games they must win. Across the upcoming stretch, the Padres’ offense will need to wake up, and they look to finish the series on a strong note over the next two games.

Billy Seidlitz

Billy has spent a majority of his life following San Diego sports and worked in San Diego for many years. Now residing in Newport Beach he recently obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Chapman University and now works as an Associate Personal Injury Attorney. Billy enjoys supporting the Padres and SDFC from Orange County and making the drive down for big games. He is passionate about analytics and writing about sports.