Enduring a 2-hour, 20-minute weather delay on Monday before opening their three-game series in Denver, the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies hope to start on time Tuesday
It will be tough to top the Monday finish, a 4-3 Colorado win in 10 innings. Both teams loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th, but the Rockies were the team to push across a run to win it
San Diego fell to 6-18 in one-run games and 0-10 in extra innings
"We know what our record is in extra innings," Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "It's not pretty.
While the Padres had not yet named a starter for Tuesday, the Rockies will turn to Peter Lambert (2-1, 4.76 ERA) as they look to secure a series win
Lambert will be making his second appearance this season against San Diego, his first start. He allowed two runs in three innings of relief against the Padres on June 9. He is 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA in four career appearances, three of those starts, vs. San Diego
The Rockies have a new look after trading veterans C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, which opens opportunities for younger players to get more playing time. It also allowed Brendan Rodgers to return earlier than expected from the injured list
Rodgers sustained a torn right shoulder labrum diving for a grounder in spring training and had surgery on the joint. The initial timeline was for him to return in late August -- or miss the entire season
"From the time I got hurt until now, I told myself that I was going to play this year," Rodgers said. "I didn't know whether it was going to be late August, early September. It's July 31, so I would say I pushed my limits a little bit. It feels good to beat that August mark.
Rodgers, who won a Gold Glove at second base in 2022, served as the designated hitter on Monday but expects to be back in the field soon -- and he isn't worried about diving
"Just back to first base (figuratively) right, now but instincts are going to tell me whether or not to do it," said Rodgers, who went 1-for-4. "I'm going to trust the process.
San Diego got a scare on Sunday when leading hitter Ha-Seong Kim jammed his right shoulder diving headfirst into home and had to leave the Padres' 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers. After treatment, he was able to serve as the DH on Monday, and he went 1-for-4 with a walk from the leadoff spot
Kim was wearing a soft brace on his shoulder and expects to have it on for a few games even when he plays the field. He said he would be playing with the shoulder issue no matter what time of the season
"Like all the boys in this clubhouse, there's not a single person who was 100 percent healthy," Kim said through an interpreter. "So if I feel like I can play, I'm going to play every day.
--Field Level Medi