Padres hope to keep heat on Dodgers in finale with Rockies

With two weeks and 13 games remaining, the San Diego Padres are very much alive in the National League West.

San Diego (81-68) is chasing Los Angeles (83-65) for division supremacy and can keep the heat on the Dodgers in the finale of a four-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon.

Colorado (41-108) will send German Marquez (3-13, 6.31 ERA) to the mound against the Padres' Yu Darvish (3-5, 5.65) in a matchup of right-handers.

San Diego routed the Rockies 11-3 Saturday night and can win the weekend series on Sunday. The Padres have won nine of the first 12 games of the season series with Colorado.

Marquez, the oldest tenured player on the Rockies at age 30, has struggled since coming off the injured list last month. He missed five weeks with right biceps tendonitis, which came on after a solid stretch of starts. His first outing back was Aug. 29 against the Chicago Cubs when he allowed eight runs in 4 1/3 innings in an 11-7 loss. In two September starts, Marquez is 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA.

He could be in the final days with Colorado because his two-year, $20 million contract extension expires at the end of this season, but he said he isn't thinking about what could be his last few starts with the Rockies.

"I take this game and my life day by day," Marquez said recently. "I'm just trying to do my best every day."

Marquez will make the 21st appearance (19th start) of his career against San Diego, second to the 24 times he has faced Arizona. He is 11-4 with a 4.40 ERA in those 20 games vs. the Padres and has pitched well in San Diego, going 6-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 11 games (10 starts).

The Padres have scuffled since beating Los Angeles on Aug. 23 to move into first place in the NL West. They lost nine of 15 games heading into this weekend but have stayed within range of the Dodgers, who also have struggled.

San Diego is still safely in the second wild-card position in the NL but is going for the bigger prize -- preventing Los Angeles from winning the division for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons.

"It's hard to articulate this, but these guys, they want it so bad," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. "They are so dedicated in their preparation. And, man, they want it bad -- and might [need] to let the game come to them a little bit more. ... Easier said than done."

Darvish is searching for his third win since the end of July. The veteran is coming off his best outing since beating the Dodgers on Aug. 22, allowing three runs in 5 2/3 innings for a no-decision in San Diego's 4-3, 10-inning win over Cincinnati on Monday.

Darvish has faced Colorado 12 times in his career -- all starts -- and is 4-4 with a 5.48 ERA in those outings. Sunday will be the first time he has pitched against the Rockies since June 9, 2023, when he got the victory in a 9-6 Padres victory.

--Field Level Media