Doyle lives out big league dreams with memorable robbery 

SAN DIEGO -- You know how kids emulate big league moments on the playground or in the backyard? They’re at bat in Game 7 under the elm tree. Perhaps they’re Ken Griffey Jr. climbing a chain link fence to take a home run away.

Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle got to play out his fantasy scenario. But he did it in a Major League ballpark.

Doyle skied above the right-center-field fence at Petco Park on Friday night to deflate the Padres’ comeback hopes as the Rockies took a 5-2 decision in the series opener. He denied Jurickson Profar with a home run robbery in the eighth inning that instantly went to the top of his highlight reel.

Doyle won a Gold Glove last year as a rookie and has multiple home run robberies to his credit. So why is this one No. 1? Location, location, location.

“One of my favorite players growing up was Adam Jones,” Doyle explained. “He made a catch over there in the World Baseball Classic. To kind of replicate it was pretty special to me.”

Jones’ catch came for the United States against Manny Machado, representing the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. That was near the 396 marker at Petco Park. Doyle’s homage was some 15 feet to the right but no less impressive.

“He’s a good one. What a catch,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We’ve seen some memorable catches, and that ranks right up there. … What a play, and what a momentum changer.”

The 2024 Padres have a knack for dramatic comebacks, particularly at home. So a 5-2 lead wasn’t exactly secure with the top of the lineup coming to bat. Doyle seemingly snatched away the comeback hopes.

After pulling his glove back, Doyle held the ball out of sight for a beat before throwing it back to the infield and confirming he made the play. It might have appeared to be the defensive equivalent of a bat flip, but Doyle offered another explanation.

“It hit my funny bone pretty good,” he said. “They have benches out there, and my hand was pretty numb. I was waiting for the feeling in my hand to get back.”

Reliever Tyler Kinley let out a “wow” on the mound. Starter Austin Gomber was equally appreciative, as the play helped keep him in line for his third win of the year. Gomber held the Padres to their two runs across seven innings.

“He's the best center fielder in the league for a reason, right?” Gomber said. “We’ve come to expect that for the last two years. He’s a Gold Glover. He’s probably going to win another one this year. Definitely happy we’ve got him on our team.”

The Rockies improved to 6-2 against the contending Padres this year. That includes a 4-0 mark in San Diego. The Rockies have won three of four series since the All-Star break and could make it four of five with a victory on Saturday.

It would be no surprise if Doyle plays a hand in the next Rockies victory, too. He’s far beyond backyard reenactments, but he still rehearses his highlights.

“The thing about Doyle that we like -- teammates, coaches -- is he works at it,” Black said. “He gets here early in the afternoon. If we have early batting practice on the field, he’ll go out and work [in the outfield].

“He’ll go out in his shorts and T-shirt and go out and work on breaks, on jumps, on getting to know the ballpark, looking at the backdrop of the stadium. He works at it. He takes a lot of pride in his defense.

“But there’s also an instinct to playing defense -- seeing the ball out of the hand of the pitcher, seeing the swing. He does a good job of putting that all together. There’s a talent level there, obviously, with speed, aggressiveness and confidence. But he wants to make plays. That’s the thing.”