Sep 11, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23), left, Jackson Merrill (3), center, and Ramon Laureano (5) leave the field after the Padres defeated the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
San Diego, California – Jackson Merrill picked a perfect moment to swing the bat, and Randy Vásquez picked a perfect night to carve up hitters. Together, they gave San Diego Padres fans the kind of game they’ve been waiting for.
Merrill’s opposite-field home run and Vásquez’s career-best nine strikeouts powered the Padres past the Colorado Rockies, 2-0, on Thursday at Petco Park. It was the kind of crisp, confident win that can steady a team trying to chase down October.
The Padres, who came in looking to shake off a sluggish stretch, pulled within 2 ½ games of the first-place Dodgers in the NL West and padded their cushion to four games over the Mets for the second wild card. With the easiest remaining schedule of any playoff contender, San Diego knows opportunities like this matter.
Luis Arraez set the tone early, lacing a single to bring Freddy Fermin home in the third. One inning later, Merrill crushed McCade Brown’s offering the other way, dropping it into the left-field seats for his 11th homer of the season. That was all the offense San Diego needed.
The spotlight then turned to Vásquez. On a night when his fastball had extra life and his breaking stuff bent corners, the 25-year-old right-hander kept the Rockies off balance. He scattered four hits across six innings, didn’t issue a walk, and fanned nine — blowing past his previous career high of six strikeouts.
If there was any doubt, the numbers underline his dominance. Colorado didn’t cross the plate once, pushing their scoreless streak to 18 innings overall. And in San Diego, the drought is even uglier: the Rockies haven’t scored at Petco Park in more than a year, a span that now stretches to 38 innings.
The Padres came into the series opener bruised from recent stumbles — losses in back-to-back sets against Minnesota and Baltimore and a home setback to Cincinnati. But they’ve also shown resilience, taking two of three at Coors Field last weekend before this latest shutout win.
For a team trying to find rhythm at the right time, Thursday’s victory felt like a reset button. Merrill showed his growing star power, Vásquez showed the kind of rotation depth that makes October baseball possible, and the Padres reminded the Dodgers — and everyone else — that they’re not going away.
The four-game series continues Friday night. If the Padres can keep stringing together nights like this one, their fans may have every reason to believe the chase in September is going to be fun.
