SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — Gavin Sheets launched a three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night, capping a dramatic comeback and lifting the San Diego Padres to a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies at PETCO Park.

Sheets’ second homer of the game, a towering blast to right-center field off Rockies reliever Juan Mejia, erased a late Colorado lead and sent a crowd of 42,454 into a frenzy. The first baseman finished 2 for 4 with four RBIs, single-handedly driving in the Padres’ final five runs.

The most important part of the game was the bottom of the ninth inning, a stunning reversal after the Rockies had seized momentum just an inning before. Colorado had taken a 2-2 tie into the eighth and scratched across two runs to claim a late advantage, only to see it vanish on one swing from Sheets.

The game was a taut pitchers’ duel for seven innings between San Diego’s Walker Buehler and Colorado’s Tomoyuki Sugano. Buehler, the Padres’ top star, delivered his best outing of the young season, shaking off two rough starts to pitch six scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits, walked none and struck out four, effectively silencing a Rockies lineup that had averaged over seven runs per game in its previous four contests.

Sugano was nearly his equal for Colorado, surrendering two runs on four hits over six innings with three strikeouts. The right-hander’s only mistakes came in the fifth inning, when Sheets and Luis Campusano hit back-to-back solo home runs to tie the game at 2-2. Campusano finished 2 for 2 with a walk and an RBI.

The game remained deadlocked until the top of the eighth. Brenton Doyle led off with an infield single, was bunted to second by Brett Sullivan and moved to third on a groundout. Pinch-hitter Hunter Goodman then lined a single to left off Padres reliever Kyle Hart to score Doyle. Tyler Freeman followed with a single, and another pinch-hitter, Jordan Beck, delivered an RBI single to right to plate Goodman, giving Colorado a 4-2 lead.

The Rockies bullpen, however, could not hold it. Antonio Senzatela worked a scoreless seventh and Jaden Hill recorded an out in the eighth before Mejia entered. Mejia navigated the eighth but ran into immediate trouble in the ninth. Jackson Merrill led off with a single and Manny Machado worked a walk. After Xander Bogaerts’ flyout advanced Merrill to third, Sheets stepped in. On a 1-1 pitch, he connected for his game-winning homer, handing Mejia his second loss of the season.

The Padres’ bullpen trio of Jason Adam, Mason Miller and Hart kept the game within reach after Buehler’s exit. Miller, who earned the win, was particularly dominant, striking out all three batters he faced in a perfect ninth inning to set the stage for the comeback.

Colorado out-hit San Diego 8 to 6 but went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position and stranded five. The Rockies’ two-run eighth snapped a 14-inning scoreless streak at PETCO Park in the series, dating back to Thursday’s 12-inning loss.

With the win, San Diego improved to 8-6 and moved two games above .500, while Colorado fell to 6-8. The victory also defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 6-5 Rockies win, though it aligned with the system’s ELO rating that gave the Padres a 75.8% probability to win.

The game, played in a crisp 2 hours and 32 minutes, was the second of a four-game set. The teams will meet again Saturday at PETCO Park. Colorado will continue its road trip with a three-game series in Houston beginning Tuesday, while San Diego will host the Seattle Mariners for three starting Tuesday after concluding the series with the Rockies.