{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Major League Baseball
San Diego 6, Colorado 0
When: 3:10 PM ET, Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Where: Coors Field, Denver, Colorado
Temperature: 67°
Umpires: Home - Lazaro Diaz, 1B - Doug Eddings, 2B - Cory Blaser, 3B - Jeff Nelson
Attendance: 20968

DENVER -- Zach Lee made a spot start for the San Diego Padres and left an indelible impression Wednesday in a 6-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies were shut out at Coors Field for the first time since July 21, 2015, as Lee, making his second start in the majors and first appearance in the big leagues in nearly two years, gave up two hits in 5 1/3 innings with four walks and three strikeouts.

He took the mound with a four-run cushion after the Padres batted around in the first against Kyle Freeland, an uprising capped by Ryan Schimpf's two-run homer.

"There was no fear out there," Padres catcher Austin Hedges said of Lee. "A lot of guys come into this ballpark a little bit scared, and he had no fear."

Lee's only other appearance in the majors was July 25, 2015, when he started for the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. He allowed seven runs and 11 hits to the New York Mets in 4 2/3 innings and took the loss in a 15-2 rout.

San Diego turned to Lee after putting scheduled starter Luis Perdomo on the 10-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation. The Padres recalled Lee (1-0) on Sunday, one day before he was scheduled to launch his season with a start for Triple-A El Paso.

Lee wasn't particularly efficient, throwing 49 of 90 pitches for strikes, but he used Coors Field's vast outfield to his advantage. Center fielder Manuel Margot had eight putouts behind Lee.

"Most of them were routine fly outs," Padres manager Andy Green said. "Those routine fly outs for me, you don't want to live there at Coors Field. But he was able to be off the barrel just enough all day."

San Diego's outfielders finished with 13 putouts, including nine by Margot, one short of the Padres record for a center fielder in a nine-inning game.

The Rockies were held to three hits, a single by Charlie Blackmon in the first and his ground-rule double in the fifth -- both off Lee -- and Carlos Gonzalez's ground-rule double in the eighth.

Freeland, a Denver native, made his major league debut Friday in the Rockies home opener. It was an ecstatic afternoon for Freeland (0-1), who held the Dodgers to one run in six innings and won that game 2-1. There was no joy for him in this outing, which lasted 4 2/3 innings.

Margot lined a double on Freeland's first pitch of the game, and Wil Myers followed with an opposite-field double down the right field line. Myers scored on a third straight hit, a single by Yangervis Solarte.

After Freeland finally got an out, Schimpf belted a two-run homer, his second of the season, on Freeland's 15th pitch to make it 4-0.

"Whether you're a rookie or a veteran, you're going to have ups or downs," Freeland said, "and realizing that and taking care of it as quickly as possible is the best way to go about it, I believe. Today was one of those down days, but in five days, I get the ball again. I've got to attack."

Freeland allowed two more runs in the fifth. He issued a one-out walk to Myers before consecutive singles by Solarte and Hunter Renfroe netted a run, and Schimpf's sacrifice fly completed the scoring and finished Freeland.

This was the Padres' fourth shutout at Coors Field and first since July 1, 2012. While taking two of three from the Rockies, the Padres allowed just three runs and 15 hits.

The Rockies got three runners to second base, two against Lee, 25, whom the Padres claimed off waivers from Seattle on Dec. 16. Lee made 13 starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City last year before the Dodgers traded him to the Mariners on June 16. At their Triple-A Tacoma affiliate, Lee went 0-9 with a 7.39 ERA in 14 starts, but he persevered.

"As in life, it's about ups and downs," Lee said. "No matter how low you get, you try to fight and stay back up, and that's been my mentality since I was young. I've always been kind of a fighter and competitive and trying to do the best I can. Especially from last year, where I was mechanically and mentally, it just wasn't a great feeling, kind of got snowballed. So it's really good to get out here, get this first one out of the way and be able to build on it."

NOTES: Padres C Austin Hedges was 0-for-24 to start the season before his infield single in the fourth. ... San Diego RHP Jake Esch, who walked the two batters he faced in the ninth, was recalled from Double-A San Antonio. He takes the roster spot of RHP Luis Perdomo (shoulder inflammation), who was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to April 9. ... Padres RHP Jarred Cosart will stay in the rotation with Perdomo injured. Cosart made a spot start Monday in place of Trevor Cahill (back strain). ... Rockies 1B Gerardo Parra made his first start of the season at that position ... Colorado LF Alexi Amarista made his second start of the season and first in left field, where Parra typically plays.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
San Diego   Colorado
Zach Lee Player Kyle Freeland
Win W/L Loss
5.1 IP 4.2
3 Strikeouts 2
2 Hits 8
0.00 ERA 11.57
Hitting
San Diego   Colorado
Wil Myers Player Charlie Blackmon
2 Hits 2
1 RBI 0
0 HR 0
3 TB 3
.667 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
San Diego 8 1 13 .250 13 6 6 4 0 0
Colorado 3 0 5 .103 17 7 0 6 0 1