DENVER _ The San Diego Padres began Saturday the way they finished Friday.
Then Eric Lauer picked up where had left off in his last game at Coors Field.
And then the night got even crazier.
The Padres fell behind big, got back in the game and then lost 14-8.
The Rockies drove Lauer from the game in the third inning, and after scoring five runs against him added six more against Robbie Erlin and three more against Gerardo Reyes.
Ian Desmond's grand slam gave the Rockies an 11-4 lead in the fifth inning, affording the Padres two extra innings to work back from nearly an identical deficit they faced seven innings into Friday's 16-12 victory.
Eric Hosmer's single cleared loaded bases in the sixth inning. Ian Kinsler's doubled scored Wil Myers in the seventh to make it 11-8.
Three runs scored against Gerardo Reyes in the seventh put the Rockies back up six, but the Padres could not become just the second team in major league history to come back from a seven-run deficit in consecutive games.
The offensive output Saturday was standard for Coors Field. The real entertainment came during breaks in play.
First, Manny Machado got ejected _ and got his money's worth on the way out _ in the fifth inning.
Machado, who before the called third strike that led to his ejection was 2-for-2 and scored during the Padres' three-run first inning and again in the third inning Saturday, thought he had taken a ball on a 1-2 curveball from German Marquez just off the outside edge of the plate.
When he heard Bill Welke call him out, Machado swung his head around and walked toward the umpire, who ejected Machado after just a few seconds.
Machado immediately threw his helmet to the ground and began to yell as he got close to Welke. Machado appeared to refer to some previous calls and to tell the umpire he was not good, in so many words.
Manager Andy Green came out and joined the argument. Machado threw his bat to the backstop before being shepherded to the dugout by bench coach Rod Barajas. Before heading to the clubhouse, Machado stood for a long minute at the dugout's railing screaming toward Welke, again asserting his opinion that Welke was bad at his job.
It was Welke who ruled Machado out on what the Padres (and others) deemed a phantom interference on a pop-up in foul territory on April 2. Green was ejected for arguing that call, but Machado was not.
Saturday was the fifth ejection of Machado's career and the first since June 7, 2016.
Fernando Tatis Jr., who had been given the day off as the Padres eased him back from a 34-game stay on the injured list that ended June 6, replaced Machado at shortstop.
Green soon reunited with Welke _ and then Machado.
The Padres had continued to bark at Welke _ who earlier had drawn the ire of Rockies star Nolan Arenado for a called third strike _ and third base umpire Mike Everitt, the crew chief. And after a fly ball to center field for the first out in the bottom of the sixth, Welke turned and yelled toward the Padres dugout.
Green jogged out and started taking to Welke. Twice, the Padres manager turned and took a few steps back toward the dugout. The second time, as Green continued to talk, Welke ejected him.
It was not immediately clear why, but starting pitcher Matt Strahm, who is always vocal on the bench, was ejected as well.
Possibly the only thing more uncomfortable than a Welke-Green-Machado meet-up is Lauer pitching at Coors Field.
It has been so bad here for the left-hander that after he allowed a career-high 10 hits and five runs in 2 1/3 innings on Saturday, his career ERA at the mile-high ballpark dropped more than a point to 19.73.
His major league debut came in this park on April 24, 2018. He allowed seven runs (six earned) that night. In a start here May 10, he got through two scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the third and five runs without making an out in the fourth.
If not for the locale, the outing would have been surprising.
In five starts since his last visit to Denver, Lauer was 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 31 innings.
But he has been rendered utterly ineffective pitching in the ballpark with the massive outfield that yields more base hits than any other major league venue, in the thin air that generally diminishes the break on pitches and increases the flight path of home runs.
