Jackson Merrill had three hits, including one of four home runs for San Diego, and the Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 8-1 in Denver on Sunday.

Manny Machado homered and doubled, and Ramon Laureano and Gavin Sheets also went deep for San Diego (78-65). The Padres remained a game behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West Division.

Sheets, Jake Cronenworth and Freddy Fermin finished with two hits each for San Diego.

Warming Bernabel had two hits for Colorado (40-103). The Rockies, who have lost 100-plus games for three straight seasons, tied the franchise record for losses set in 2023.

Machado gave the Padres the lead with a two-run homer in the first inning, his 23rd of the season. Merrill hit a solo shot in the second to make it 3-0. It was his 10th of the season.

Colorado got a run back in the third inning when Orlando Arcia blooped a double to right field and Ezequiel Tovar lined a two-out single to left.

San Diego expanded its lead in the fourth. Sheets hit his 19th homer to make it 4-1. Rockies starter Tanner Gordon fanned Merrill for the second out of the inning but the Padres rallied. Jake Cronenworth doubled and scored on Fermin’s single to chase Gordon.

Gordon (5-6) allowed six runs on six hits and struck out five in 3 2/3 innings.

Fernando Tatis Jr. greeted Luis Peralta with a single to put two runners on and Peralta walked Luis Arraez and Machado to bring home another run.

Laureano led off the fifth inning with his 23rd homer of the season, and Merrill and Cronenworth followed with singles to put runners on the corners.

Antonio Senzatela relieved Peralta and walked Fermin with a wild pitch to bring home Cronenworth.

Padres starter Dylan Cease walked Yanquiel Fernandez in the bottom of the fifth but retired the next three batters. He walked Tovar leading off the sixth and left after 102 pitches. Cease (7-11) gave up a run on four hits and fanned five in five-plus innings.

–Field Level Media