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The San Diego Padres, with their playoff prospects looking stronger than ever, will attempt to wrap up a series win against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday in Denver.
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The Padres (83-69) hold a 3 1/2-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks (80-73) in the race for the third National League wild card. San Diego is just 1 1/2 games back of the team occupying the top wild-card position, the Chicago Cubs (85-68), and only one game back of the club in the second wild-card spot, the Philadelphia Phillies (84-68).
San Diego is on a 9-1 run, having bounced back from its lone loss in that span by beating the Rockies 9-3 on Wednesday. The teams conclude the four-game set with a Thursday matinee.
Padres right-hander Michael King (11-9, 3.03 ERA) will oppose Rockies right-hander Tanner Gordon (1-4, 5.55) in the series finale.
King has faced Colorado five times in his career, including four starts, going 1-2 with a 5.54 ERA in those appearances. He got a no-decision against the Rockies on July 28 after giving up four runs on six hits in six innings.
The only complete game of his career — and only shutout — was a two-hitter against the Rockies on April 13, 2025, in San Diego.
King is 0-1 with a 9.53 ERA in two games at Coors Field, and his last game there was forgettable. He allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings in a 7-4 loss on April 23, 2024.
King has yet to pitch with Ethan Salas behind the plate, but it might be tempting for manager Craig Stammen to keep the rookie in the lineup on Thursday. Salas, at 20 years, 107 days old, became the youngest catcher in major league history to produce a multi-homer game when he went deep in the second and fifth innings on Wednesday.
He set the franchise record for youngest player with a multi-homer contest regardless of position.
“It was a good day,” Salas said, according to MLB.com. “Thankfully we got the win. And I got two good swings off today.”
Salas also drew praise of his catching work from veteran teammate Robbie Ray, who got the win.
“He was great back there today,” Ray said, according to MLB.com. “We had a game plan going into it. He was with me on the game plan the whole time. … He did a great job.”
The Padres will attempt to send the Rockies (56-96) closer to a fourth consecutive 100-loss season. Colorado needs seven wins in the last 10 games to avoid that mark.
Despite another tough year, there are some bright spots for the Rockies. Rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield is hitting .300 with 15 homers and 69 RBIs in 146 games, and rookie Cole Carrigg, who made his major league debut on June 9, has made an impression in his first 83 games.
Carrigg was the catalyst on Tuesday when Colorado won 9-3 to snap an eight-game skid. He homered twice and finished with four hits and five RBIs. Carrigg is batting .266 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs and has played strong defense, in the outfield and occasionally at shortstop.
“I’ve always expected the most out of myself — always been hard on myself to be better,” said Carrigg, who went 0-for-4 on Wednesday. “You know what? This might not be the best thing that you can do, but when I’m not going well, I like to get in the cage and work it out.”
A big game from Carrigg would be a boost for Gordon, who gave up four runs on 10 hits in four innings during a no-decision at Detroit on Saturday.
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Gordon is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in three career games against San Diego.
–Field Level Media
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This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 1:28 AM.