Seth Lugo took the mound as the Padres looked to finish off the Rockies for the third straight game and extend their win streak to 7. Coming off of a win in his last start against the Athletics, he pitched well once again to keep the Rockies early lead in check. He would allow his only runs of the day in the first inning before pitching lights out for the rest of the game. The San Diego lineup had some trouble making things happen early in the contest, but a 7th-inning rally helped them to jump into the lead and stay that way for the rest of the way. They would secure a 3-2 victory and keep the momentum rolling with an off-day on Thursday.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Lugo does well to keep the game close

After allowing 2 runs to come across in the top of the first inning on a home run and an infield single, Seth Lugo locked in and went to work. For the rest of his outing, the Rockies were unable to score and could not capitalize on the early lead that they claimed. Lugo pitched 6 innings while allowing just the 2 first-inning runs and struck out 7 batters. His clutch performance gave the Padres some much-needed time as they finally struck back in the bottom of the 7th to score some runs. While Lugo will not get credit for the win, he definitely played a big part in the contest and kept things close long enough for the Padres to make their move. He along with the rest of the squad have slowly crept up on the San Francisco Giants in the NL West standings, and find themselves only 2 games behind their division rival. With one last series against the Giants this season beginning on September 25, San Diego will have a golden opportunity to spoil their wild-card chances, and potentially even jump them for third place in the division if things go right.

Campusano, Bogaerts, Choi have nice games

Despite gathering 8 hits on the day, the Padres found themselves having to grind out some clutch at-bats later in the game to boost themselves into the lead. The hero from Tuesday’s game, Xander Bogaerts, was very helpful for San Diego as he went 3-4 on the day and scored a run in the first inning. He was able to keep the lineup moving and provide consistency as the team fought to get back even with Colorado. Another player who provided a clutch moment was catcher Luis Campusano. Campusano found himself coming off of the bench in the 7th with the bases loaded for a big pinch-hit moment. He delivered on the very first pitch he saw as he blooped a single into right field that would tie the game at 2.

Later in the inning, Ji-Man Choi would also provide some pinch-hit magic with a sacrifice fly to center that nearly got down for an extra-base hit. The rally would put the Padres up 3-2, and the bullpen would take care of the rest in a nice team win. Bogaerts, Campusano, and Choi all did great jobs helping out the team in big spots and made a huge difference in the game.

Bullpen finishes strong to hold off the Rockies

With Seth Lugo removed from the game after 6 innings and the Padres down 2-1, the bullpen was leaned on to keep the game close. The first man up was Luis Garcia, who pitched a scoreless 7th inning and would eventually get credit for his second win of the season. In the 8th inning with the team on top for the first time all game, Scott Barlow took care of business and kept the Rockies off the board. It was left to Josh Hader, who took the mound seeking his 31st save of the season. He came through as he allowed a hit on 13 pitches but kept Colorado from forcing extra innings. Overall, it was three clutch innings of relief from the bullpen to cap off what was a strong rebound for the unit in the final 2 games of the series. They turned things around nicely after nearly allowing the Rockies to erase a big lead in the series opener but just barely holding on. The 1-9 RISP effort from Colorado on the day is an encouraging sign that the pitching staff will look to build on throughout the final 3 series of the year.

The Padres will have an off day on Thursday before getting back to action against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday evening at Petco Park. The Cardinals have been disappointing this season, as they sit at 67-84 and hold the last-place position in the NL West. It will be a great chance to keep the win streak going and continue to close the year off strong.

First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. PT.