Denver, CO
Rockies walk 11 Padres but escape with fifth straight victory
SAN DIEGO — The Rockies walked the high-wire Monday night at Petco Park.
Their pitchers teetered and tottered. They walked 11 Padres batters. Count ’em, 11.
But somehow, someway, the Rockies held on to win 5-4, notching their fifth consecutive victory.
The Padres loaded the bases in the ninth against Jalen Beeks on three walks, but Beeks got Manny Machado to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.
“That was exhilarating, for sure,” a frazzled but happy Rockies manager Bud Black said. “The term ‘hang on tight’ came into play. We had to hang on tight, for sure. But it felt good. The guys in the dugout and the guys on the field erupted. But you don’t draw them up like that.”
No, you don’t.
Monday marked just the third time in franchise history that Colorado walked 11 or more and managed to win the game. In a May 12, 1995 game at Florida, Rockies pitchers walked 12 but beat the Marlins. On June 5, 1999, they walked 12 Brewers at Coors Field but managed a victory.
Black took a risk in the ninth. He visited the mound and instructed the infield to play back, looking for the double play. The strategy paid off.
“We thought there was a double-play chance with Manny, and I thought that was our best chance to win the game,” Black explained. “Even though Beeks is a high-fastball pitcher, he has a chance to get a grounder by choking off a swing with a good fastball, and that’s what he did.”
Perhaps lost in the moras of walks was an outstanding play by veteran right fielder Jake Cave. He raced in on Luis Arraez’s dying line drive and made a diving catch for the first out of the ninth.
“I was just trying to cover as much ground as possible,” Cave said. “Then I saw that I was ‘closing in, closing in,’ so then, I thought, ‘Now I’ve got try for it.’ When I’m healthy, and I’m out on the field, I’m going to go as hard as I can.”
In the final 3 1/3 innings, the Rockies relievers gave up eight walks: three by Beeks, three by Justin Lawrence and two by Jake Bird.
“Bird, Lawrence and Beeks will tell you that’s not good,” Black said.
San Diego crept to within one run, at 5-4, in the seventh on Jackson Merrill’s leadoff homer off Bird. When Bird issued back-to-back walks to Luis Campusano and Ha-Seong Kim, Colorado’s lead appeared to be disintegrating until Justin Lawrence relieved Bird and got Arraez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Then Lawrence got the dangerous Fernando Tatis to ground out to third baseman Ryan McMahon.
But the Rockies’ walk-fest continued in the eighth inning when Lawrence walked three to jam the bases but pulled a Houdini escape act when Campusano popped out to center.
Elehuris Montero powered Colorado to an early lead. The first baseman drove in Brenton Doyle with a single up the middle in the second. Doyle reached on a walk, stole second and advanced to third on Cave’s groundout to first.
Montero’s two-run double to left-center off starter Randy Vasquez sparked the Rockies’ four-run fourth. Back-to-back bloop singles by Charlie Blackmon and Ezequiel Tovar drove in the other two runs to put Colorado ahead, 5-1.
Rockies starter Dakota Hudson pitched his best game in a Rockies uniform, got the win and snapped a streak of eight consecutive losing decisions dating back to Sept. 11 of last season when he pitched for St. Louis.
“I felt like we had a good plan going in,” Hudson said. ‘It felt good to get than win.”
The right-hander mowed down the Padres with his bowling ball sinker for 5 2/3 innings until he threw a few gutterballs in the sixth. He issued a two-out walk to Machado and then served up a two-run homer to Jurickson Profar, who crushed his seventh bomb of the season to cut Colorado’s lead to 5-3. The switch-hitting Profar, who played with Colorado last season, hit Hudson’s first-pitch changeup deep into the right-field seats. Profar has already driven in 29 runs.
Hudson, who also mixed in an effective curveball, induced 10 outs via groundballs, struck out three, walked three and gave up just three hits. However, two of the three hits were homers, including Xander Bogaerts’ two-out solo shot in the second.
“I thought the fastball played tonight, and he had a good breaking ball,” Black said. “He threw more curveballs than he had in previous starts, so there was a little more separation of velocity. I thought that was key.”
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The Denver Broncos have the 20th pick in the NFL Draft when Round 1 begins April 24 in Green Bay. The Broncos own seven total picks in the seven-round draft.
Broncos’ draft picks
| Round | Pick | Overall | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
20 |
20 |
|
|
2 |
19 |
51 |
|
|
3 |
21 |
85 |
|
|
4 |
20 |
122 |
|
|
6 |
15 |
191 |
From Cardinals |
|
6 |
21 |
197 |
|
|
6 |
32 |
208 |
From Eagles |
Full draft order
Every pick in the seven-round NFL Draft.
NFL Draft details
• Round 1: April 24, 8 p.m. ET
• Rounds 2-3: April 25, 7 p.m. ET
• Rounds 4-7: April 26, noon ET
All rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
About the Broncos
• General manager: George Paton (fifth season with team)
• Head coach: Sean Payton (third season)
• Last year’s record: 10-7
The Broncos in 2024 defied gloomy preseason expectations by reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2015. They did it behind promising rookie Bo Nix, the sixth quarterback taken in last year’s draft, and a young defense that led the NFL in sacks and featured the defensive player of the year in cornerback Pat Surtain II. Denver added to that promising foundation during free agency with three key signings at positions of need — linebacker Dre Greenlaw, safety Talanoa Hufanga and tight end Evan Engram — and believes it is ready to challenge the Kansas City Chiefs’ stranglehold on the AFC West.
Scouting the decision-makers
Sean Payton has the final say on personnel decisions, but he and general manager George Paton have found a collaborative rhythm in the draft. They were aligned in their pursuit of Nix last season and filled in a draft class behind him that significantly impacted Denver’s playoff season in 2024. Entering their third draft together, it’s the most continuity the Broncos have had between GM and coach since John Elway and John Fox worked together through four straight drafts (2011 to 2014).
• The Broncos’ 2024 NFL Draft class
Broncos’ key free-agent signings
• TE Evan Engram: Two-year, $23 million deal
• LB Dre Greenlaw: Three-year, $35 million deal
• S Talanoa Hufanga: Three-year, $45 million deal
• DT D.J. Jones: Three-year, $39 million deal
• OT Matt Peart: Two-year, $7 million deal
• Broncos’ 2025 free agency tracker
Broncos’ key positions of need
Running back: The Broncos let their leading rusher of the past two seasons, Javonte Williams, walk in free agency and didn’t sign a veteran replacement. None of Denver’s four remaining running backs has ever rushed for 500 yards in a season. The Broncos are clearly in search of an impact player at the position in the draft.
Tight end: Even after signing Engram to a two-year deal, the Broncos could use more pass-catching depth at tight end. They may not be in range to select the draft’s top two targets at the position, Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland, but this is a deep class of receiving tight ends. Two to keep an eye on with connections to the Broncos: Gunnar Helm of Texas, who played his high school football outside of Denver; and Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson, who caught passes from Nix in college.
Defensive line: The Broncos have long-term decisions to make with Zach Allen and John Franklin-Myers. Those two starting ends, plus defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, are all entering the final seasons of their respective contracts in 2025. The Broncos need more young talent up front.
Broncos’ draft analysis
Denver Broncos 2025 NFL Draft big board: Will Sean Payton find more targets for Bo Nix?
Numbers explain Sean Payton’s emphasis on receiving in Broncos’ RB search
Broncos mailbag: The next step for Bo Nix, NFL Draft targets, ‘Hard Knocks’ chances
Broncos roster reset: Is UNC’s Omarion Hampton the RB solution? Extensions on DL?
Broncos 2025 NFL Draft big board: 10 players who fit Sean Payton’s roster ‘musts’
2025 NFL Draft consensus Big Board: Abdul Carter holds at No. 1; Armand Membou rises
The Athletic’s latest mock drafts
March 24: Ben Standig’s mock draft
Another case for picking UNC’s Omarion Hampton
March 21: Beat writer mock draft 2.0
Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart would continue Denver’s defensive infusion
March 10: Nick Baumgardner rounds 1-3 mock draft
More weapons added for Bo Nix
March 7: Broncos mock draft 2.0
A trade back adds picks and help at defensive tackle
March 5: Dane Brugler mock draft
Hampton would offer another “Joker” option
(Photo of North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
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April will be the premier month for jazz in Denver and Boulder, due to the arrival of the Denver Jazz Fest. Kicking off April 3 and running through April 6, some of the area’s best-sounding venues will open their doors to present internationally known artists and local jazz luminaries.
Performers include saxophonist Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet, guitarist Bill Frisell, multi-Grammy winner and Denverite Dianne Reeves, who is unquestionably one of the most accomplished living singers, pianist Omar Sosa, saxophonist Charles McPherson teaming up with trumpeter Terell Stafford, vocalist Ganavya, Boulder-based piano legend Art Lande, emerging and incendiary saxophonist Isaiah Collier, the funk-drenched Ghost Note, The Headhunters and more.
There will be 30 shows total.
It’s encouraging to see the involvement of so many venues in Denver and Boulder, from Nocturne to the Newman Center, presenting such heartfelt music. This will be the first Denver Jazz Fest, and hopefully an annual Colorado tradition will be established. It’s time for the world to be reminded of our extraordinary musical history. Everything you need to know is at denverjazz.org.
Record Store Day
“You can never have enough records” is a statement I embrace. Luckily, Record Store Day is Saturday, April 12. That means your favorite local retailer will amass a stash of limited-edition vinyl for you to grasp excitedly. The archival jazz crop this time around is excellent: there are recently-unearthed live dates from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard (“On Fire – Live From The Blue Morocco”,) bassist Charles Mingus (“In Argentina – The Buenos Aires Concerts”,) and trumpet king Kenny Dorham (“Blue Bossa In The Bronx”) which is of particular interest, because there really isn’t a lot of Kenny Dorham music around in physical form.
There’s also an exhilarating four-hour vinyl box from big bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra, “Nuits de la Fondation Maeght,” which includes a generous amount of previously unreleased sounds of joy from the summer of 1970. It’s as noisy as it is delightful. Locations and the definitive list are at recordstoreday.com. I hope you get what you want.
Guitarist Dave Devine will perform music associated with guitar hero Grant Green at Nocturne March 30, along with a six-course dinner…The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra presents a tribute to Quincy Jones at Dazzle March 31…The Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band will perform at DU’s Newman Center April 8…The Mike Marlier Quartet honors Chick Corea at Nocturne on April 9…the gifted saxophonist Miguel Zenon brings his quartet to Dazzle April 14…saxophonist-vocalist Brianna Harris performs “The Modern Songbook” at Nocturne Saturdays in April…NEA Jazz Master-saxophonist Gary Bartz, who has worked with legends from Art Blakey to Miles Davis, will take to the Dazzle stage May 1-2. Bartz is living history, and he doesn’t appear in Colorado very often…Victor Wooten and the Wooten Brothers appear at the Boulder Theater May 3…
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