DENVER — The Padres finally joined Dylan Cease on Monday, rewarding his seven stellar innings by stringing together hits for the first time all night to retake the lead in the eighth inning.

To that point, they were in danger of committing a crime against one of their starting pitchers for the second time in five games.

A two-out double by Luis Campusano and successive RBI singles by pinch-hitter Tyler Wade and Jackson Merrill made a winner of Cease, who allowed one hit in the first seven innings of the Padres’ 3-1 victory over the Rockies.

Cease threw every bit the game Michael King had five days earlier in a 1-0 loss in Milwaukee.

He allowed his only hit (and his only run) earlier than King, who took a no-hitter within an out of a full seven innings.

But in the thin air, where any stray pitch can ruin an excellent outing, Cease retired the Rockies in order in six of his seven innings, striking out eight along the way.

The only blemish on his gem was a double off the wall by Charlie Blackmon followed by a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.

He was finished after throwing 90 pitches. Enyel De Los Santos allowed a two-out double in a scoreless eighth. Robert Suarez moved into a tie for the major league saves lead by earning his eighth of the season, but not before yielding a leadoff double to Sean Bouhard and a one-out single to Ezequiel Tovar. He got a double play grounder from Ryan McMahon to end the game.

A swirling wind blowing from left to right and also in may have affected some fly balls. But that wasn’t all that factored into a unique night at Coors Field.

The Padres, playing without Manny Machado, who remained in San Diego with his wife, Yainee, set to give birth to their first child, could not capitalize early or get anything going until late.

They had at least one runner on base in every inning except the ninth and at least one runner at second and/or third base in each of the first three innings and again in the seventh. But they were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position to that point.

Rockies starter Austin Gomber, who had allowed at least one run in the first inning in all four of his starts and carried a 4.95 ERA into Monday, was not sharp early. But the Padres could not take advantage of that.

The left-hander made it through five innings allowing just one run.

That came in the third inning when José Azocar led off with a single through the right side, went to second on a wild pitch, to third on Jake Cronenworth’s groundout and scored on Jurickson Profar’s two-out single to left field.

The Rockies have trailed at some point in all of their games in 2024 and are now 5-18, the worst record they have ever had 23 games into a season.

Their first deficit lasted an inning when they turned their first baserunner into a run, tying the game when Blackmon led off the fourth with a double off the wall in right-center field, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Tovar and sacrifice fly by Ryan McMahon.

He retired nine straight batters before Blackmon’s hit and 12 straight after to finish his night.

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