Jackson Merrill homered and Randy Vasquez fanned a career-high nine in six shutout innings as the San Diego Padres blanked the visiting Colorado Rockies 2-0 on Thursday.
Luis Arraez added three hits and an RBI as San Diego (80-67) moved within 2 1/2 games of the idle Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West. The Padres improved to 8-2 against Colorado this year with five of the wins via shutout, including all four meetings in San Diego.
Vasquez (5-6) allowed only four hits and walked none in a 90-pitch outing as he beat the Rockies for the third time in as many matchups this year. Jeremiah Estrada and Mason Miller each followed with a perfect inning, and Robert Suarez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 37th save in 42 chances.
Rookie McCade Brown (0-4) lasted 4 1/3 innings for Colorado, permitting five hits and two runs with two walks and four strikeouts. It was the longest of Brown’s four career starts but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Rockies (40-107) from dropping their sixth straight game.
Brown, who allowed six second-inning runs on Saturday in a 10-8 loss to Vasquez and San Diego, improved greatly over that outing but was still touched for single runs in the third and fourth.
Freddy Fermin got the Padres’ first hit with a one-out single in the third. A wild pitch moved him into scoring position, and one out later, Arraez slapped a liner into right-center for the only run San Diego needed.
Merrill brought in the other run in the fourth, driving a high, outside fastball an estimated 366 feet into the seats in left for his 11th homer of the year.
Colorado had a pair of scoring chances early against Vasquez but couldn’t convert. The Rockies got two men on in the first via an error and Jordan Beck’s single, but Vasquez whiffed Ezequiel Tovar to end the frame. Brenton Doyle doubled to open the second, but the next three hitters were retired.
The Rockies fanned 14 times, a night after whiffing 17 times in a 9-0 road defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Thursday contest was the opener of a four-game series.
