One bad pitch at Coors Field could have rattled Padres rookie Joey Lucchesi. It didn’t, and he settled down to pitch a gem for his first major league win.
Lucchesi overcame an early error and home run to dominate until the seventh inning, Hunter Renfroe hit a go-ahead homer and San Diego beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Renfroe’s three-run shot in the seventh backed Lucchesi’s strong outing and gave the Padres their first series victory of the season.
“It feels awesome,” said Lucchesi, who was given a beer shower by his teammates after the game. “It feels great.”
Lucchesi (1-0) shut down Colorado in his third career start. He struck out eight and allowed two unearned runs before leaving two batters into the seventh.
“It was fun to watch that kid pitch. He was really good,” San Diego manager Andy Green said. “I was hoping to get him through the seventh inning. Up to that point he hadn’t shown any signs of wearing down at all. He looked strong. All day very good after that blip in the first inning.”
Austin Hedges also homered, Jose Pirela had three hits and Brad Hand pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Padres outfielder Manuel Margot left in the ninth inning after getting hit in the ribs by Scott Oberg’s fastball. Green said he was getting checked out but there was no immediate update on his status.
“Obviously caught him flush in the ribs and stung him pretty good,” Green said. “We’re hopeful he’s feeling a little bit better pretty soon.”
Renfroe hit the first pitch from reliever Brian Shaw (1-1) with two out in the seventh. It was his first homer of the season and came after a pair of two-out singles. It also gave the outfielder a little payback after Shaw struck him out on a cutter in a seven-pitch at-bat Monday.
“Same pitch he swung through yesterday,” Shaw said. “Obviously, today he got it.”
Trevor Story’s two-run homer in the first — his third of the season — came one out after Chris Iannetta reached on an error by Lucchesi. The rookie left-hander found a groove after that, retiring 16 of the next 18 batters and erasing the two runners with double plays. He left after Nolan Arenado led off the seventh with a triple off the scoreboard in right and Story walked.
“Went out in the first inning and felt great, felt loose, as I should be,” Lucchesi said. “I had one bad pitch and recuperated and was able to get the job done.”
Kazuhisa Makita came on and stranded both runners with a flyout, a strikeout and a foul out.
Colorado has lost three straight despite another strong outing from Tyler Anderson. The left-hander was effective over six innings but remains without a decision through three starts. He pitched six shutout innings last week in San Diego, and the Padres managed just two runs off him Tuesday before he left for a pinch-hitter.
“Other than those two walks, for the most part I was in the strike zone a lot, which is always good,” Anderson said.
Pirela had an RBI double in the third and Hedges hit a leadoff homer in the fifth that tied it at 2.
AROUND THE MAJORS TUESDAY
— Aaron Sanchez lost his no-hit bid when Baltimore’s Tim Beckham led off the eighth inning with a sharp grounder through the legs of third baseman Josh Donaldson, and Curtis Granderson hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth to carry the Toronto Blue Jays over the Orioles 2-1 on Tuesday night. Seeking to throw the second no-hitter in Blue Jays history, Sanchez walked four and hit a batter before it all came apart.
— Hyun-Jin Ryu cruised through six innings of one-hit ball, Corey Seager hit one of three Dodgers homers and Los Angeles beat the Oakland Athletics 4-0. Ryu rebounded from a rocky season debut to shut down Oakland. He struck out eight and walked one, handing off to the bullpen after just 90 pitches. Ryu also walked and singled in two plate appearances.
— Andrew McCutchen hit a bases-loaded single for his second walk-off of this homestand, lifting the San Francisco Giants over the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4. McCutchen lined the first pitch he got from Jorge De La Rosa for a clean single into left-center, his 10th career game-ending hit. His previous walk-off was just last Saturday, when he hit a three-run homer to sink the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 14th inning.
— Matt Carpenter hit a two-run home run with no outs in the 11th inning to lift the St. Louis Cardinals over the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3. Carpenter turned around a pitch from J.J. Hoover for the third game-ending homer of his career. It capped a night in which St. Louis rallied from one-run deficits in the ninth and 10th innings.
— Stephen Strasburg threw eight scoreless innings, Ryan Zimmerman had a two-run triple and the Washington Nationals defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-1. Strasburg allowed three hits and two walks while striking out eight, at one point retiring 12 in a row. He didn’t allow a runner past second base.
— Aaron Nola pitched eight stellar innings and Scott Kingery hit a grand slam, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Nola gave up three hits while striking out six and walking three as Philadelphia won for the fourth time in five games. The Reds have lost three in a row.
— Roberto Perez hit a leadoff home run in the eighth inning against reliever Alex Wilson, lifting the Cleveland Indians over the Detroit Tigers 2-1. Perez belted a 2-0 pitch to center field that landed in the seats in front of the bullpen to give Cleveland its ninth straight win over Detroit.
— Yoenis Cespedes snapped a slump with a two-run double to break a tie in the ninth inning, giving the New York Mets the best 10-game start in a franchise history when they beat Miami 8-6. The Mets earned their seventh consecutive victory.
— Justin Verlander struck out nine over seven dominant innings, Carlos Correa had two hits and scored twice and the Houston Astros beat the Minnesota Twins 2-0. Verlander was in control throughout on a chilly night with a first-pitch temperature of 35 degrees.
— Mookie Betts hit a grand slam on a monster night, leading Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox over the New York 14-1 for their ninth straight victory. Betts went 4 for 4, scoring five runs and driving in four. His third career slam capped a nine-run burst in the sixth inning that turned the first matchup of the season between the AL East rivals into a rout.
—Felix Hernandez pitched into the sixth inning, Guillermo Heredia homered and the Seattle Mariners bounced back from a blowout loss to Kansas City with an 8-3 rout of the Royals. Hernandez was shelled his last time out in San Francisco, but allowed three runs, six hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings against Kansas.
— Mike Trout and Andrelton Simmons each homered, Albert Pujols had two more hits in his push to 3,000 and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers 11-1. The Angels are 9-3 for the first time since 1982.
— Blake Snell pitched one-hit ball and struck out 10 through six innings and the Tampa Bay Rays kept the White Sox winless at home this season, beating Chicago 6-5. The White Sox dropped to 0-5 at Guaranteed Rate Field. That matched Chicago’s five-game home skid to start 1975 at Comiskey Park.
— Ivan Nova pitched seven solid innings, Francisco Cervelli hit a three-run homer and the Pittsburgh Pirates ruined the Chicago Cubs’ home opener with an 8-5 victory on Tuesday. The Pirates’ 8-2 record is their best 10-game start since 1992, and they are a perfect 4-0 on the road for the first time in 15 years.
| AMERICAN LEAGUE | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Division | |||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB | L10 | Str | Home | Away | |
| Boston | 9 | 1 | .900 | — | — | 9-1 | W-9 | 4-0 | 5-1 |
| Toronto | 8 | 4 | .667 | 2 | — | 8-2 | W-3 | 4-3 | 4-1 |
| New York | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4½ | 2½ | 4-6 | L-2 | 3-3 | 2-3 |
| Baltimore | 4 | 8 | .333 | 6 | 4 | 3-7 | L-2 | 1-4 | 3-4 |
| Tampa Bay | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6½ | 4½ | 2-8 | W-2 | 1-3 | 2-5 |
| Central Division | |||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB | L10 | Str | Home | Away | |
| Minnesota | 5 | 4 | .556 | — | — | 5-4 | W-1 | 2-2 | 3-2 |
| Cleveland | 6 | 5 | .545 | — | 1½ | 6-4 | W-3 | 4-1 | 2-4 |
| Detroit | 4 | 6 | .400 | 1½ | 3 | 4-6 | L-2 | 1-4 | 3-2 |
| Kansas City | 3 | 6 | .333 | 2 | 3½ | 3-6 | L-1 | 1-3 | 2-3 |
| Chicago | 3 | 7 | .300 | 2½ | 4 | 3-7 | L-5 | 0-5 | 3-2 |
| West Division | |||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB | L10 | Str | Home | Away | |
| Houston | 9 | 3 | .750 | — | — | 8-2 | L-1 | 5-1 | 4-2 |
| Los Angeles | 9 | 3 | .750 | — | — | 8-2 | W-3 | 4-2 | 5-1 |
| Seattle | 5 | 4 | .556 | 2½ | 1½ | 5-4 | W-1 | 2-1 | 3-3 |
| Oakland | 4 | 8 | .333 | 5 | 4 | 3-7 | L-2 | 3-5 | 1-3 |
| Texas | 4 | 9 | .308 | 5½ | 4½ | 3-7 | L-3 | 2-7 | 2-2 |
___
| NATIONAL LEAGUE | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Division | |||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB | L10 | Str | Home | Away | |
| New York | 9 | 1 | .900 | — | — | 9-1 | W-7 | 4-1 | 5-0 |
| Atlanta | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3½ | — | 5-5 | L-2 | 4-2 | 2-3 |
| Washington | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3½ | — | 5-5 | W-2 | 2-3 | 4-2 |
| Philadelphia | 5 | 5 | .500 | 4 | ½ | 5-5 | W-2 | 4-1 | 1-4 |
| Miami | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6½ | 3 | 3-7 | L-2 | 2-6 | 1-2 |
| Central Division | |||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB | L10 | Str | Home | Away | |
| Pittsburgh | 8 | 2 | .800 | — | — | 8-2 | W-2 | 4-2 | 4-0 |
| Chicago | 5 | 5 | .500 | 3 | ½ | 5-5 | L-1 | 0-1 | 5-4 |
| Milwaukee | 6 | 6 | .500 | 3 | ½ | 4-6 | L-1 | 2-5 | 4-1 |
| St. Louis | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3½ | 1 | 5-5 | W-1 | 2-3 | 3-3 |
| Cincinnati | 2 | 8 | .200 | 6 | 3½ | 2-8 | L-3 | 1-3 | 1-5 |
| West Division | |||||||||
| W | L | Pct | GB | WCGB | L10 | Str | Home | Away | |
| Arizona | 8 | 3 | .727 | — | — | 7-3 | L-1 | 5-1 | 3-2 |
| San Francisco | 5 | 5 | .500 | 2½ | ½ | 5-5 | W-1 | 3-3 | 2-2 |
| Colorado | 5 | 7 | .417 | 3½ | 1½ | 5-5 | L-3 | 1-4 | 4-3 |
| Los Angeles | 4 | 6 | .400 | 3½ | 1½ | 4-6 | W-2 | 3-2 | 1-4 |
| San Diego | 4 | 8 | .333 | 4½ | 2½ | 4-6 | W-2 | 1-6 | 3-2 |