The San Diego Padres absolutely returned the favor Wednesday night, slamming the Rockies 9-3, just a day after Colorado pulled off their own multi-homer 9-3 win. This one hurt, and honestly, the writing was on the wall pretty much immediately.
Adams’s Command Collapses in Early Innings
It was a tough night on the mound for Mason Adams, making just his fifth big-league start. After a strong outing in Detroit last time, you expected him to build on that momentum, but nope. His command was just gone, especially in the first inning. He started by hitting Fernando Tatís Jr. with a pitch, then walked Dustin Harris. Manny Machado grounded into a force out, but his hustle prevented the double play. Then Ty France hit a sacrifice fly to put the Padres up 1-0. Jackson Merrill singled, Xander Bogaerts walked with the bases loaded, and Jake Cronenworth singled up the middle to make it 2-0. By the time Adams finally escaped that first inning, he’d already thrown 32 pitches, constantly working from behind.
Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer didn’t mince words after the game. “The command just wasn’t there today,” he said. “I think it was obvious with all of his pitches, specifically in the first inning. I thought he made an adjustment to get back in the zone after that, but overall the command wasn’t where it needs to be, not where he’d like it.”
Padres Pile On, McCarthy Makes History
The struggles for Adams continued. He gave up Ethan Salas’s first-career home run to start the second, pushing the lead to 3-1. Samad Taylor singled and stole second in the fourth, scoring on a two-out triple by Harris, making it 4-1. Adams’s night ended after 4.1 innings, giving up a single to Merrill and a walk to Bogaerts. Unfortunately, when Nick Frasso came in for relief, he immediately gave up a two-run single to Taylor, allowing those inherited runners to score and bringing Adams’s line to six runs allowed on eight hits and three walks. He threw 84 pitches, only 54 for strikes, and had just one single swing-and-miss for his lone strikeout. Schaeffer tried to find a positive, saying, “The one thing Mason does well is think, always. Even when things are going wrong, he thinks well and diagnoses well mid-inning and between innings.”
While the Rockies’ offense went cold for the most part, Jake McCarthy did give us something to cheer about. He walked off Padres starter Robbie Ray to lead off the game, then stole second base. That was his 30th stolen base of the season, and it’s historic! McCarthy became the first Rockies player in franchise history to rack up 15 home runs, 30 doubles, 10 triples, and 30 stolen bases in a single season. What an individual accomplishment even in a tough loss.
Losing 9-3 like this, especially with Adams struggling so much with his control, is a tough pill to swallow. The Rockies need to find a way to get their pitching straightened out and give their offense a chance to stay in games. They’ll have to shake this one off fast and figure out how to bounce back.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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