San Diego, CA
Padres still can’t escape struggles against Rockies
Clearly, the surging Padres aren’t going to win every game.
They do need to win more games against the cellar-dwelling Rockies.
Manny Machado and Donovan Solano both homered, but a souped-up bullpen stumbled on Friday night and the Padres’ bewildering struggles against Colorado continued in a 5-2 loss in front of a sellout crowd of 44,393 at Petco Park.
“Tomorrow, we’ve got to change that,” second baseman Xander Bogaerts said. “These guys probably feel good playing against us. We have to come in here and change that tomorrow.”
The Padres began the weekend with a 29-23 record against teams in playoff position and have clinched their first season series against the Dodgers since 2010.
Lot of good that will do if they’re giving games away against the Rockies, who have won six of the first eight meetings and are a win away from clinching the season series.
Friday’s lead unraveled when it looked like the Padres’ strength was ready to bring it home.
Machado homered off Padres nemesis Austin Gomber to tie the game at 1 in the second inning, Donovan Solano added a solo shot in the fourth and Randy Vásquez got through five innings to hand a one-run lead to the bullpen that A.J. Preller strengthened ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
First out of the gate on Friday: Jeremiah Estrada.
Only he walked the first two batters he faced, gave up an infield single to load the bases and coughed up three runs on Kris Bryant’s one-out single and Jake Cave’s two-out blooper.
“Jeremiah’s been fantastic for us,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “The two walks, that got him. Some softer contact and found a hole and next thing you know they threw up some runs.”
Alek Jacob got the final out of the sixth inning, but he allowed the Rockies an insurance run in the seventh on back-to-back singles and Ryan McMahon’s ensuing sacrifice fly.
It was the first run that Jacob has allowed in six appearances in the majors.
Jacob followed with a scoreless eighth and Yuki Matsui threw a perfect ninth.
The Padres can only hope Friday’s stumble is a one-off for a team that’s still won nine of its first 12 since the All-Star break.
For a team that’s gone through the Guardians, Orioles and Dodgers in stacking that second-half success, there certainly isn’t much logic in such drastic struggles against a team that walked into Petco Park 30 games under .500 and a 16-41 road record.
Except this.
“It’s the big leagues,” first baseman Jake Cronenworth said Friday afternoon as he assessed the challenge of carrying momentum forward after improving to 7-3 on the season against the Dodgers.
As in they are more than aware of the wrench that any team can throw into their plans at any point.
In fact, they’ve already been swept once at home by the Rockies after winning a series against the Dodgers, as was the case in May.
They believe things are different now.
“We’re further along in the season,” Cronenworth said. “We know who we are more than we have all year. I think the way we’ve been playing as well is different.”
It just didn’t materialize on Friday against the Rockies.
Their only runs scored on home runs from Machado, his 17th of the season, and Solano, his fourth.
Jurickson Profar looked like he’d put a charge in their hopes to start the eighth, but center fielder Brenton Doyle leapt against the wall in right-center to rob him of a home run to get his bullpen started on the right foot.
“That’s tough,” Bogaerts said. “The timing of the game, too, right there. If that ball’s gone, a home run? It sucked the air out of the whole ballpark for sure. … Credit to Gomber, he kept us off-balance the whole night. I feel like that ball from Profar would have been a nice game-changer possibility and he made an unbelievable play.”
By the time Gomber exited after seven innings, he’d struck out five and scattered five hits and a walk.
Through three starts against the Padres, Gomber has allowed three earned runs over 18 innings for a 1.50 ERA.
Two of his three wins this season are against the Padres.
Shoot, six of the Rockies’ 41 victories this season are against the Padres.
Rebounding from his worst start of the season (2 IP, 6 ER), Vásquez paid only for the solo homer that Brendan Rodgers pulled to left to start the second inning.
Vásquez struck out four in five innings and allowed just three hits despite walking two batters and hitting another before giving a one-run lead to the new-look relief corps.
“I was confident; I still am confident in that bullpen,” Vásquez said through interpreter Danny Sanchez. “We have a lot of talent in that bullpen, so I’m super confident in those guys.”
Originally Published:
RAMONA (CNS) – Four rare western spotted skunks were released back in the wild after weeks of rehabilitation and socialization at the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Center, officials announced Wednesday.
The successful release marks a major milestone for a species rarely seen in wildlife rehabilitation. The group included one orphaned skunk that was flown more than 400 miles by Flying Tails Animal Rescue from Sierra Wildlife Rescue in Northern California to join an orphaned group in Ramona, according to the SDHS.
The four skunks were returned to a carefully selected, remote habitat in Valley Center after reaching the necessary weight and developmental milestones to thrive on their own.
Western spotted skunks are a rare sight for the Humane Society’s Project Wildlife team. While the wildlife center typically handles hundreds of striped skunks each year, admitting six spotted skunks from different litters in one season is unusual. Spotted skunks are generally found in remote forested areas and are not as common in urban neighborhoods, officials said.
“We have never seen this many western spotted skunks in a single season before,” said Autumn Welch, wildlife operations manager at the Ramona Wildlife Center. “Because they are more reclusive than striped skunks, they require very specific care and even more secluded release sites to ensure they can stay wild.”
Socialization is critical for orphaned spotted skunks. During their stay at the Ramona Wildlife Center, the group became a bonded unit — exploring, digging and sleeping together, according to SDHS officials. Experts say these social cues prevent habituation to humans and teach the orphans natural skunk behaviors.
While four members of the group have returned to the wild, two spotted skunks remain in care at the facility. The smallest skunk was moved to an outside pre-release habitat and introduced to a slightly older skunk in late June.
Wildlife officials said by keeping the pair together, the wildlife team ensures the younger skunk will have a companion to learn from until they are both ready to be released, likely within the next month or two.
Anyone who finds an injured, sick or orphaned wild animal is encouraged to visit sdhumane.org/wildlifehelp or call 619-299-7012.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A 33-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to 325 years to life in prison for sexually abusing two 6-year-old girls, in addition to a slew of other felony sex abuse charges, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Christopher T. Gardner was convicted of 15 felony sex abuse charges, which included molesting the two girls, who were relatives of his, over a five-year period.
The abuse reportedly first came to light when one of the victims told a friend in confidence during a sleepover that she had been touched inappropriately. The friend then told her mother, who contacted law enforcement.
After Gardner was arrested, a third victim came forward, who was also a relative. Now a young adult, the victim said that when she was 7-8 years old, Gardner sexually assaulted her.
During the nine-day trial, the first two victims reportedly testified to multiple vulgar acts of sexual abuse by Gardner.
“Predators who rob children of their innocence and inflict lifelong trauma do not belong in our communities,” DA Summer Stephan said. “This sentence sends an unmistakable message to abusers: you will be held accountable. I am deeply grateful to our specialized sexual abuse prosecution team for their dedication in bringing a measure of justice to the survivors.”
Thursday, July 9
• La Jolla Town Council: 6 p.m., La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St. lajollatowncouncil.org
Friday, July 10
• La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club: 6:45 a.m., UC San Diego Faculty Club, 270 Muir Lane. lajollagtrotary.org
• Kiwanis Club of La Jolla: noon, La Jolla Community Center, 6811 La Jolla Blvd. kiwanisclublajolla.org
Sunday, July 12
• La Jolla Open Aire Market: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Girard Avenue at Genter Street. (858) 454-1699. lajollamarket.com
Monday, July 13
• La Jolla Library Book Club: 1:30 p.m., Community Room, La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. The July book is “Fresh Water for Flowers” by Valérie Perrin. sandiego.events.mylibrary.digital/event?id=316631
• La Jolla Planned District Ordinance Committee: (pending items to review), 4 p.m., La Jolla Recreation Center, 615 Prospect St. Email info@lajollacpa.org.
• Laughmasters Toastmasters: 6:30 p.m., online. Email jrmmt@cox.net.
Tuesday, July 14
• San Diego Blood Bank blood drive: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Hensel Phelps Construction Co., 9404 Genesee Ave. Donors must be 17 or older, weigh at least 114 pounds and be in good health. Photo identification is required. (619) 400-8251. sandiegobloodbank.org
• Rotary Club of La Jolla: noon, La Valencia Hotel, 1132 Prospect St. rotarycluboflajolla.org
• Co-op Toastmasters Club: noon, online at bit.ly/46W13bx (meeting ID: 849 4320 0407, passcode: cccu2020). (669) 900-6833. toastmasters.org/find-a-club/00001125-coop-club
• La Jolla Development Permit Review Committee: (pending items to review), 4 p.m., online. Email info@lajollacpa.org.
Wednesday, July 15
• Torrey Pines (La Jolla) Rotary Club: noon, online. torreypinesrotary.org
• La Jolla Shores Association: 6 p.m., Martin Johnson House, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 8840 Biological Grade. lajollashoresassociation.org
Thursday, July 16
• La Jolla Sunrise Rotary Club: 6:58 a.m., La Jolla Shores Hotel, 8110 Camino del Oro. Call Cheryl Collins at (760) 936-3272 or Steve Cross at (619) 992-9449.
• San Diego Blood Bank blood drive: 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sanford Burnham Prebys (patio outside Buildings 6 and 7), 10901 N. Torrey Pines Road. Donors must be 17 or older, weigh at least 114 pounds and be in good health. Photo identification is required. (619) 400-8251. sandiegobloodbank.org
• La Jolla Shores Permit Review Committee: (pending items to review), 4 p.m., online. Email info@lajollacpa.org.
Friday, July 17
• La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club: 6:45 a.m., UC San Diego Faculty Club, 270 Muir Lane. lajollagtrotary.org
Did we miss listing your community event? Email calendar information to Noah Lyons at noah.lyons@lajollalight.com by noon Thursday for publication in the following week’s edition. ♦
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