SAN DIEGO (AP) — Left-hander Kyle Freeland made a brilliant defensive play while holding San Diego to three hits in six scoreless innings and Charlie Blackmon hit a two-run homer in the Colorado Rockies' 4-1 victory over the Padres on Friday night.

The Rockies have won the first two games of the season against the Padres, who have World Series aspirations after making it to the NL Championship Series last year. Not only are the Padres off to a rough start, but they were booed for the second straight night at Petco Park.

Freeland (1-0) made a sensational play to retire Austin Nola opening the fifth. Nola hit a soft dribbler down the third base line and Freeland hopped off the mound, gloved the ball, took two steps and made a jump throw — reminiscent of Derek Jeter — to first baseman C.J. Cron, who made a nice stretch to retire the runner. Freeland ended up sprawled face down in foul territory.

He squatted behind the mound for a few minutes and was checked by a trainer and manager Bud Black. He remained in the game.

Freeland said he knew third baseman Elehuris Montero was playing back and that he was the only one who had a chance. He said he made the play once before, as a rookie.

“It's not an easy play to make — one, fielding the ball; two, getting the transfer; and three, getting up on the throw and making it accurate," Freeland said. "You give it a go. You practice it obviously as a kid all the time trying to be like Jeter.”

Manager Bud Black said it might be the best play he's ever seen.

“To go as far as he did, then the jump throw with some velocity behind it, what a play,” Black said. “We'll see that one on replay highlight reels forever. That was fabulous.”

Freeland, who went 3-1 in five starts against San Diego last year, shut down the Padres and frustrated the superstars at the top of the lineup. Xander Bogaerts singled leading off the sixth but was erased by Manny Machado's double-play ball to end the inning.

Bogaerts hit a sacrifice fly off former Padres closer Brad Hand in the eighth.

The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the first on three hits and a walk against Nick Martinez (0-1). Ezequiel Tovar singled leading off the fifth and was aboard for Blackmon's impressive shot to right with two outs. Martinez allowed four runs on six hits in seven innings.

Former Padres reliever Pierce Johnson, who signed a free agent with his hometown Rockies in the offseason, pitched the ninth for his first career save.

The Rockies are without closer Daniel Bard, who went on the injured list Thursday with anxiety.

“It was a ton of fun,” Johnson said. “Just the adrenaline going from warming up to the first guy you face is Manny, that's a pretty good feeling. Those three outs are the hardest in baseball. I think any reliever, the most-coveted role is the closer's role. I was fortunate enough to be that guy today but we're just going to hold down the fort until Bard is back.”

REPPING THE AZTECS

Joe Musgrove, Machado and Bogaerts wore Kawhi Leonard No. 15 San Diego State basketball jerseys during the Padres' batting practice as a nod to the Aztecs, who play in their first Final Four on Saturday. Musgrove, who grew up in suburban El Cajon, said the NBA star, who usually attends a few Padres games every summer, sent him a handful of jerseys. The Padres will open the gates early before Saturday evening's game and show SDSU's game against Florida Atlantic on the video board.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: Musgrove, on the injured list with a broken left big toe, is scheduled to face live batters Saturday at the spring training complex in Peoria, Arizona. He said he'll throw five innings and about 75 pitches.

UP NEXT

Rockies RHP José Ureña, who was 3-8 with a 5.14 ERA last year, is scheduled to start Saturday night opposite RHP Michael Wacha, who will make his Padres debut. Wacha was 11-2 with a 3.22 ERA with Boston last year.

Cron, Rockies rain homers on Padres for 7-2 opening win

SAN DIEGO (AP) — C.J. Cron homered twice and drove in five runs for the Colorado Rockies, who beat San Diego 7-2 on Thursday to dampen opening night of the most anticipated season in Padres history at chilly, wet Petco Park.

Cron hit a go-ahead, three-run homer with one out in the fifth inning and added an opposite-field leadoff shot in the seventh for his 17th career multi-homer game. Elehuris Montero followed with another homer off reliever Domingo Tapia.

Colorado had 17 hits, with the heart of the order collecting 10 — four by Cron and three apiece by Kris Bryant and Charlie Blackmon. The Rockies also struck out 17 times and committed three errors, including one by Cron at first base.

Expectations are so high for the superstar-laden Padres, who made a stirring run to the NL Championship Series last year, that some in the sellout crowd of 45,103 booed when left fielder Juan Soto let Bryant's fly ball fall in for an RBI single in the sixth. There were more boos when Cron and Montero went back-to-back in the seventh.

Germán Márquez (1-0) held San Diego to two runs and five hits in six innings.

“I think you always try to quiet the crowd, especially early in the game,” said Rockies manager Bud Black, a former Padres skipper who still lives in the area in the offseason. "I think that was big that we scored in the first inning. I mean, they came right back. The starting pitcher sets the tone for that, and if you score some runs, it keeps the momentum on your side and the crowd out of it.

“They tried a couple times to rally but our pitchers snuffed it,” Black added. “But it’s a good crowd here.”

Márquez said the atmosphere “was super exciting, but I told myself, like, ‘You have to calm down.'”

As for pitching to a lineup with three superstars in a row, he said: “Believe me, it's not easy. I'm going to do my best to make good pitches and tonight was great.”

Xander Bogaerts, who signed a $280 million, 11-year free agent deal in December, went 3 for 4 with two doubles in his Padres debut. Manny Machado, who finished second in NL MVP voting last year, had a sacrifice fly and a single. Soto, acquired last year at the trade deadline from Washington, went 0 for 4.

The Padres' fourth superstar, Fernando Tatis Jr., is eligible to be activated on April 20 after finishing an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Blake Snell (0-1), making his second career opening-day start, struck out nine through four innings before allowing singles to Yonathan Daza and Blackmon and leaving with a 2-1 lead in the fifth. Nabil Crismatt relieved and gave up Cron's shot to left field.

Crismatt “throws a ton of changeups,” said Cron, who also hit an RBI single in the first. “It's a really good one and he kind of leans on it. I didn't expect four in a row or however many it was. I knew he was going to give me quite a few of them. It's tough against him because it's so good, but I finally got one I could hit.”

The Padres decided Wednesday night to push back the scheduled start time 5 1/2 hours due to the threat of rain. There was a downpour about two hours before first pitch. It was raining in the first inning and there was a slight delay before the top of the second while the grounds crew worked on the field.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rockies: Placed closer Daniel Bard on the 10-day injured list due to anxiety and called up RHP Jake Bird. Bard said he has had anxiety both on and off the field.

STARS

Jake Peavy, the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner with the Padres, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove, who's on the IL with a broken left big toe. Peavy was one of Musgrove's favorite players while growing up in suburban El Cajon and wears Peavy's No. 44. Peavy will be inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in July. ... Tennis great Rod Laver, the last man to win the calendar-year Grand Slam, and former basketball star Ralph Sampson watched from Padres owner Peter Seidler's luxury suite.

UP NEXT

Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland is scheduled to start Friday night against RHP Nick Martinez in the second game of the four-game series. Freeland was 9-11 with a 4.53 ERA last year while Martinez, who's moving into the rotation, was 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA in a hybrid role.