Rockies 2, Padres 0
SAN DIEGO -- Tyler Chatwood pitched eight scoreless innings and added a single that led to Colorado's first run Wednesday afternoon as the Rockies blanked the San Diego Padres 2-0 at Petco Park to avoid being swept in a three-game series.
Chatwood (4-2) continued his dominating performance in road games to edge Padres starter Cesar Vargas in a duel of right-handed starters.
Chatwood, 26, gave up three hits and a walk while striking out seven Padres over eight innings. He is now 4-0 in four road games this season with a major-league-best 0.33 road earned run average. On the flip side, Chatwood is 0-2 on his home turf at Coors Field in Denver with a 7.20 ERA in two starts.
Left-handed closer Jake McGee picked up his seventh save with a perfect ninth to complete the eighth shutout against the Padres this season.
Vargas, 24, allowed one run on four hits and three walks over six innings in his third major-league start. His ERA climbed to 1.10.
The Rockies scored the game's first run in the top of the fifth with the help of Chatwood's perfect-placed single.
Reserve catcher Tony Wolters opened the fifth by drawing a walk from Vargas.
Chatwood, who was hitting in the eighth spot in the lineup, squared as if he were going to bunt, but the pitcher pulled the bat back at the last second and hit a roller toward short.
Padres shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who had broken toward second to cover the bag on the perceived bunt, reversed ground and dived for Chatwood's grounder. But the ball ticked off Ramirez's glove and rolled into short left, allowing Wolters to reach third.
Wolters scored on Christian Adames' ground out to Padres first baseman Wil Myers.
The game remained 1-0 until the top of the ninth when the Rockies made it 2-0 on a squeeze bunt.
Chatwood the pitcher retired 10 straight Padres between a two-out Matt Kemp single in the first and Melvin Upton Jr.'s lead-off single in the fifth. He then retired seven straight hitters before Brett Wallace lined a two-out, opposite-field double off the wall inside the left-field foul pole.
Wallace was the only Padre to reach second, and the seventh inning was the only time that the Padres had two runners on in the same inning.
The Rockies threatened to expand their lead against the Padres bullpen in the eighth but were denied by center fielder Jon Jay's leaping catch at the wall to end the threat.
Charlie Blackmon singled off right-handed reliever Carlos Villanueva with one out and advanced to second on a walk drawn by Trevor Story. Right-hander Kevin Quackenbush replaced Villanueva and retired Carlos Gonzalez on a routine fly to left. Nolan Arenado then hit a drive over Jay's head to straight-away center. The center fielder raced back and timed his leap perfectly, catching the drive as he collided with the wall.
Mark Reynolds and Gerardo Parra greeted Padres left-handed reliever Brad Hand with back-to-back singles opening the ninth. With runners at the corners, Hand struck out Wolters. But Reynolds raced home on a squeeze bunt by DJ LeMahieu, who was pinch-hitting for Chatwood.
Wednesday marked the fourth time this season that the Padres failed to complete a series sweep after winning the first two games. They are 0-9 in the final games of series this season.
NOTES: Padres manager Andy Green said three infielders currently on the disabled list -- 3B Yangervis Solarte (hamstring), 2B Cory Spangenberg (quad) and INF Alexi Amarista (hamstring) -- might begin rehab assignments next week. But RHP pitcher Tyson Ross (shoulder inflammation) still has no scheduled date to even resume a throwing program . . . Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, the National League Rookie of the Month, struck out in a 22nd straight game in his first at-bat Wednesday.