DENVER -- The San Diego Padres, who are coming off a fifth straight series win over the weekend, posted a narrow 1-0 shutout over the Colorado Rockies in their series opener on Tuesday at Coors Field.
In what was an underwhelming performance offensively for both clubs, the stars of this contest were San Diego's starter Randy Vásquez and Colorado's right-hander Chance Dollander, who came in to replace starter Jimmy Herget after he struck out the side in the first inning.
Despite the lone run given up by Dollander, the Rockies rotation of arms were nearly perfect on the mound, as they combined for 15 strikeouts, six hits and one walk. The key moment for Dollander was striking out six consecutive batters, which was two shy the Rockies' franchise record set by current Padres pitcher Germán Márquez.
"They pitched great," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "Dollander got some really good stuff. (He's) got that really hard heater. We just couldn't quite catch up to it tonight. And then they got some good bullpen guys too. You know, they got a much improved pen from years past. And you know, they're going to be a tough out with those guys at the back end."
Vásquez, along with relievers Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon, not only combined for the shutout, but they set down 18 batters in a row. Earning his second win of the season and posting a 1.88 ERA through five starts, the 27-year-old tied a career high seven innings pitched, a benchmark he's reached now three times.
"It's fantastic", Stammen said. "Hard to pitch like that at Coors Field. You know, (he) did a tremendous job throwing strikes, getting his pitch countdown, got a lot of swing and miss. Just an outstanding outing for Randy.
He finished the night throwing 84 pitches and only allowed three hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Morejon earned his first save of the season, but to some surprise, it was expected in a one-run game to see the usual dominate closer Mason Miller, who is one scoreless inning away from breaking the franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings. However Stammen decided on Sunday that since Miller pitched Saturday and Sunday, he would receive the next two days off, and at this point of the season, Stammen just wants to be careful with his roster.
"We decided Adrian was a good person for the ninth," Stammen said. "Mason will be fine going forward but you got to take it easy on him. We've used him a lot over here over the last week or so. You know, he's not a robot."
Even with the victory in hand, the Padres offense could not provide any run support for Vásquez. The team often had a difficult time making contact and posted a season-high 15 strikeouts, including from players who have been consistent at the plate: Ramón Laureano (3), Fernando Tatis Jr. (2), Jackson Merrill (3) and Xander Bogaerts (2).
It was scarce but their offense came though during the sixth inning when Dollander gave up a hustle double from Jake Cronenworth, followed up by a barehand misplay by third baseman Kyle Karros to allow Tatis Jr. to reach first base. On the very next pitch, Merrill would get plunked to load the bases with two outs, which led to an RBI walk by Manny Machado.
"We weren't getting anything going, we struck out on the side," Stammen said. "Their pitchers kind of had us in a tailspin. Jake gets one through the hole and then, you know, like he always does hustling everywhere gets in that double... Those finishing plays is what we talk about can win us some games, today it won us a game."
San Diego had a good chance to add a little cushion in the ninth inning with Miguel Andujar and Freddy Fermin in scoring position, but the pair would get left stranded after Cronenworth struck out following an overturned ABS challenge that touched the top of the strike zone.
The Padres will look to take the series on Wednesday with their starting right-hander Walker Buehler (1-1, 4.58 ERA) and he will face-off against Rockies right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (1-1, 3.92 ERA). First pitch is at 5:40 p.m.