Padres 9, Rockies 3: Salas's First Two Homers Open a Wild Card Gap

Two swings, a 9-3, and a catcher who just got here

September 16, 2026 - Denver - Ethan Salas hit his first major league homer in the second. He hit his second in the fifth, Samad Taylor already across, and Coors Field had an 8-1 game that did not come back. The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3. ESPN's recap called Salas the youngest catcher in major league history with a multi-homer game. The MLB recap said no catcher had done it younger since Iván Rodríguez in 1991.

Cloudy. 74 degrees. Wind 13 mph in from left. First pitch 6:42 p.m. Attendance 16,806. The game lasted 2 hours, 43 minutes. San Diego had 13 hits. Colorado had four. The Padres are 83-69. The Rockies are 56-96.

Tuesday was a 9-3 loss in the same building. Wednesday flipped the numbers. The MLB recap said San Diego has won 10 of 12 after sitting outside the playoff picture two weeks ago. Later Wednesday, Miami beat Arizona, and the Padres moved 3 1/2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks for the last National League Wild Card.

A sacrifice fly, a single through short, then Salas

Fernando Tatis Jr. scored on Ty France's sacrifice fly in the first. Manny Machado scored on Jake Cronenworth's single to short. 2-0. Jake McCarthy scored on a forceout in the bottom half. 2-1. That was Colorado's last run until the sixth.

Salas hit the next pitch that mattered. Fly ball to center. His first homer. 3-1. The Padres had called him up on September 1, the MLB recap said, mostly as a left-handed bat off the bench. This was the second full game he has caught since that call-up, and the fourth start behind the plate. He is not supposed to own a midweek night in Denver. He owned this one.

Dustin Harris tripled Taylor home in the fourth. 4-1. The fifth finished the argument. Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts were on when Taylor lined a single to center. 6-1. Salas went to right for his second homer, Taylor scoring. 8-1. France doubled Harris home in the sixth. 9-1. Merrill finished 3-for-5. Taylor went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base. Cronenworth added two hits. Harris had the triple, a walk, and a run.

Ray's six, and a bullpen that finally sat

Robbie Ray threw six innings. Three hits. Three runs. Two walks. Six strikeouts. Eighty-eight pitches. He is 13-8. The last two runs came on Kyle Karros's two-run homer in the sixth, Connor Norby aboard, with San Diego already up eight. The MLB recap called it altitude-aided. Ray still covered the innings the Padres needed after four straight close games on this trip.

"Arm felt great, body felt great, so I was just trusting it," Ray said, per the MLB recap.

David Morgan threw two scoreless. Yuki Matsui finished the ninth. Adrian Morejon and the rest of the high-leverage group stayed in the pen. The MLB recap said that was the point after a week that taxed the sport's best relief corps. Tuesday's 9-3 loss and Wednesday's 9-3 win were both blowouts. San Diego prefers the second one. Both of them rested the arms that have to finish October.

Mason Adams took the loss in his first decision (0-1). He lasted 4 1/3: eight hits, six runs, three walks, one strikeout, 84 pitches. Nick Frasso inherited the fifth and gave up Salas's second homer. Jimmy Herget and Juan Mejia threw the last three innings scoreless and did not get a lead to hold.

A four-game cushion, and a catcher who might keep starting

The MLB recap was blunt about the standings. Arizona lost later Wednesday. San Diego is 3 1/2 ahead in the loss column. The clubs finish the season with three games at Petco Park next weekend. After Wednesday, Arizona no longer controls its own destiny. The Padres can clinch a Wild Card berth before that series starts if they keep winning.

Manager Craig Stammen, per the MLB recap, is not handing Salas the everyday job after one night. Luis Campusano and Freddy Fermin have been competent. Catching in the majors is still a job that eats rookies. Stammen also said the quiet part: "He can help us in the postseason, and I think he's going to help us for years to come. So all these experiences now, the good ones and the bad ones, are things he can use to become a better baseball player."

Ray's next turn lands on Monday, an off day. Michael King starts Thursday's series finale. The calendar is getting tight. A 9-3 in Denver does not solve the rotation puzzle. It does give San Diego a night it can spend on the math instead of the bullpen.

Colorado got Karros's 12th homer, a double from Norby, and McCarthy's run in the first. Four hits in a park that usually gives you more. The Rockies are 56-96. Wednesday was another night that asked them to keep a game close and then watched a prospect catcher hit two balls they could not catch.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Salas at 13 hitting fantasy points and Ray at 15 pitching FP. Taylor had 8. San Diego finished with 18 team FP, first on a 15-game Wednesday. Colorado finished at minus-4.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

Marketplace

*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com Gameday wrap, MLB.com schedule, and AthX Engine scoring. Information only; not financial advice.*