SAN DIEGO _ Nick Margevicius has now given up more than one run in a start.
The Padres have now lost three games in a row.
The Rockies have now won three games in a row.
All came to be Tuesday night for the first time this season.
It also happened again that the Padres offense couldn't muster much of anything, and that is almost undoubtedly the most troubling development of all.
Jon Gray allowed three hits in seven innings, the second Colorado staring pitcher to pretty much have his way with most of the Padres' bats, and with an 8-2 victory the Rockies swept a two-game series at Petco Park.
For all the angst over the major leagues' least-experienced starting rotation, Tuesday was arguably just the second time a Padres starter truly got roughed up.
Even after Margevicius was touched for five runs Tuesday, the Padres rotation's ERA of 3.87 is ninth lowest in the majors.
Margevicius had allowed a single run in each of his first three starts and had combined with Chris Paddack, the other rookie in the rotation, for a 1.50 ERA and 0.73 WHIP over 30 innings.
Margevicius' solo-run run was over quickly, when Nolan Arenado sent a belt-high 87-mph fastball just over the wall in center field to give the Rockies a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Arenado's third homer in three games was the first Margevicius homer surrendered this season.
The 22-year-old left-hander was hit hard by the Rockies through the first three of his four innings. Four of the seven hits he allowed went for extra bases.
Among the balls smacked against Margevicius, only the pitch to Arenado seemed poorly placed. The Rockies simply weren't as fooled as the Giants and Cardinals had been.
Tony Wolters pulled a low-and-inside fastball for a double to right field, and two batters later Charlie Blackmon went the other way for a double on a fastball low and away to score Wolters. Both pitches were on the edge of the plate.
A slider to Raimel Tapia in the third inning was nowhere near the strike zone. Tapia reached down to bang a pitch at shin level to right-center field for a two-run triple in the third that made it 5-0.
By the time Margevicius got out of the third, he had thrown 70 pitches. That was more than twice as many as Rockies starter Jon Gray, who was at 33 pitches through three innings and 42 pitches without allowing a hit through four.
Wil Myers ruined Gray's no-hitter and shutout bids with one swing leading off the fifth. His second home run in two games and fifth of the season _ tied with Fernando Tatis Jr. for the team lead _ bounced off the ribbon scoreboard below the second deck of seats in left field, an estimated 392 feet from home plate.
Eric Hosmer walked before Tatis struck out and Ian Kinsler grounded into the first of three Padres double plays.
A single by Franmil Reyes, rocketed under shortstop Trevor Story's glove at 107 mph, a line drive single by Myers and Manuel Margot's dribbler to the mound were the only hits the Padres would get until Tatis' double off the right field wall with two outs in the ninth scored Myers.
The Padres entered the game having scored enough to win 11 of their 18 games. The deciding run in seven of their victories came in the seventh inning or later. Just twice had they scored the deciding run before the sixth.
That's clutch hitting, certainly. But the Padres also entered Tuesday with a .232 team batting average and .300 on-base percentage. Both marks are the second lowest among teams with winning records.
In other words, the Padres have not only been winning by a whisker _ nine victories by one or two runs, none by more than three _ they have been hanging by a thread.
Their minus-(6) run differential after Tuesday's game is fourth lowest in the NL and the lowest of any team in the majors with a winning record.
