DENVER _ You don't come to Coors Field expecting a pitcher's duel.
But that's what happened Tuesday as Colorado Rockies starter Tyler Anderson and Padres rookie Joey Lucchesi were largely baffling for a combined 12 innings.
Especially Lucchesi. And it appears this is what can be expected of the 24-year-old lefty, three starts into his major league career.
Lucchesi pitched into the seventh inning before running into trouble from which Kazuhisa Makita bailed him out.
And just before Lucchesi left, Hunter Renfroe's two-out, three-run homer off Rockies reliever Bryan Shaw put the rookie in position to get his first major league victory.
Three more relievers worked through the final two innings, including Brad Hand getting his second save in two games, as the Padres won 5-2, ensuring they will win their first series of the season.
The horror of Coors Field has somewhat diminished, an in-house humidor keeping baseballs dry and cool and, moreover, pitchers having become accustomed to the challenges of pitching a mile high.
Still, the air remains thin, plays tricks with some pitches and carries some hits. And the immense dimensions designed to keep more balls in play make the outfield seem as vast as the plains.
Throw in the fact that the Rockies can hit anywhere they play, and pitching here can and often does mess with visiting pitchers.
Nothing seems to mess with Lucchesi, who was not expected to begin the season with the Padres. But here he is, the first pitcher from the 2016 draft in the big leagues.
Lucchesi went after the Rockies, the National League's best-hitting team two years running. Of his 82 pitches, 56 were strikes.
He also overcame his own mistake, a first-inning throwing error perhaps all that kept him from not allowing a run.
After striking out DJ LeMahieu, Lucchesi got Chris Iannetta to ground back to the mound. Lucchesi easily fielded the ball and took an extra couple steps off the dirt toward first base before throwing the ball into the dirt and on a bounce past first baseman Eric Hosmer.
Lucchesi then struck out Nolan Arenado, but Trevor Story sent a ball into the right field seats.
There is no doubt Lucchesi would be upset about his foible afterward, but he effortlessly put it behind him.
He retired six straight, and singles to start the fourth and fifth innings were negated by double-play grounders.
A perfect sixth featured his seventh and eight strikeouts of the night. That inning also featured just the second count in which a Rockies batter worked Lucchesi to three balls in a count.
Lucchesi was going so well that manager Andy Green had him go up as the seventh inning's lead-off batter.
Lucchesi grounded out, and Manny Margot _ who would leave the game after getting hit in the ribs by a 95-mph fastball in the ninth inning _ hit a fly ball that was caught in center field.
Then Jose Pirela and Hosmer singled, and Renfroe slammed the first pitch he saw on a line to the stands in right field to give the Padres the 5-2 lead.
The Padres' first run had come with two outs as well, as back-to-back doubles by Margot and Pirela got the Padres to 2-1 in the third inning. Austin Hedges' solo home run to start the fifth tied the game.
After the Padres took the lead in the top of the seventh, Arenado's triple off the wall in right field and Story's walk started the bottom half of the inning and ended Lucchesi's night.
Makita was called on, and with two strikeouts and a pop-up he stranded both runners.
Lucchesi had thrown five scoreless innings against the Rockies five days earlier in San Diego and ran his streak without allowing an earned run to 11 innings.
This was, by far, an easier outing.
The final three innings of the first start, though, had shown Lucchesi what he could do, as he set down the final 10 Rockies he faced, six on strikeouts. He spoke in the ensuing days of having developed a trust with Hedges.
It appears it's all real, that no matter where he pitches, Lucchesi has shown he belongs.
