Marquez, Rox no match for locked-in Lyles

SAN DIEGO -- The Rockies were stymied by right-hander Jordan Lyles as they fell to the Padres, 4-0, on Tuesday afternoon.
One game after turning Petco Park into a launching pad with three homers, Colorado was grounded. Not until Trevor Story's clean one-out single to left field in the eighth inning did the Rockies have a baserunner. It was their lone hit off a converted reliever they released in August.
"It's a little tricky sometimes, because we know each other so well," Story said. "He just got ahead of us early on every hitter and after that, he was making pitches, too."
The Rockies, who split the two-game series, lost for the fifth time in seven contests.

"No doubt he was on, for sure," manager Bud Black said. "Early in the game, there was a lot of fastballs, a lot of cutters, and as the game progressed, the breaking ball he possesses showed up. We couldn't handle the breaking ball."
The Padres, who entered the National League in 1969, have yet to throw a no-hitter. Story made sure that streak stayed intact.
"You never want to get no-hit," said Story, who is batting .300 (3-for-10) in his career against Lyles. "I guess maybe you're pulling out all the stops when it gets late in the game. I got a little cutter; I was just trying to get on base."
Colorado was kept at bay by Lyles thanks to his four-pitch arsenal, although he leaned mostly on his curveball late in corralling Colorado. He tied a career high with 10 strikeouts in beating the Rockies for the first time in four career starts.

"The couple of times that he's faced us, he's had an aggressive, upbeat, momentum-building delivery, and he showed it today," Black said. "We know that he has weapons, and today, it was truly working for him."
Lyles (1-1) walked Pat Valaika after Story's knock, which brought in reliever Kirby Yates. As he exited, Lyles received a standing ovation from the crowd of 19,598.
Yates got Tony Wolters swinging. Black summoned pinch-hitter Charlie Blackmon, and the Padres countered with closer Brad Hand. Blackmon got a free pass and pinch-hitter Ian Desmond then sent a sinking line drive to center that floated long enough for Manuel Margot to snag.
Starter Germán Márquez (2-5) was solid, save a first-inning mistake to Eric Hosmer. After Travis Jankowski led off with a single, Hosmer crushed a 94-mph fastball 402 feet to right-center for his sixth homer on the year and a 2-0 cushion.
"It was supposed to be a fastball away, and I missed and it was right in his wheelhouse," Marquez said through an interpreter. "You have to give him credit."
Marquez, who was sharp with his fastball and breaking ball, deserves back slaps as well. He has pitched at least five innings in four of his past seven starts.

"After [the Hosmer homer], he regrouped, and when they stretched him a few times, he got out of it," Black said. "His stuff was good."
The first-inning outburst was the extent of the Padres' attack against Marquez. Over five innings, he allowed two runs, six hits and a walk. He struck out five, but he was unable to secure his first win since April 16.
"Hosmer got him on the first pitch, but great job by him to come back and not let them score any more after that,'' Story said. "He did great. He kept us in the game for a long time, but we just couldn't get the offense going."
Chris Rusin relieved Marquez and the Padres doubled their edge. Franmil Reyes collected his first hit in the Majors, and two batters later, rookie Christian Villanueva smacked his club-high 10th home run. Four of those big flies have been at the Rockies' expense.
"The big blow was the homer off Rusin that Villanueva hit on a first-pitch fastball," Black said. "That got us to 4-0, and that was a bit too steep to climb."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
The Padres were threatening in the second, with two aboard and one out, and they looked poised to turn over the lineup. Lyles laid down a bunt, but it didn't travel far from the plate. Wolters, showing his old skills as an infielder, pounced on it and fired an off-balance strike to Nolan Arenado at third for the force. Arenado then retired Lyles at first for an inning-ending double play.

SOUND SMART
Lyles' gem marked the 22nd time the Rockies have been one-hit in franchise history, with two of them coming against the Padres. It was the first time Colorado was restricted to one hit since June 17, 2016, at Miami.
HE SAID IT
"He obviously pitched super aggressively. The pitch count was way down, the ball-strike ratio was really good. We just couldn't get to him." -- Black, on Lyles' impressive performance
UP NEXT
Righty Chad Bettis faces the Giants at AT&T Park on Thursday, with Bettis sporting the National League's best road ERA at 1.35. All five of his decisions, four of which have been wins, have come away from Coors Field. He allowed season highs of 10 hits and seven runs in his last outing against the Brewers. The Giants counter with righty Jeff Samardzija, with first pitch at 8:15 p.m. MT.