DENVER -- The Rockies made an epic comeback Thursday afternoon, erasing a five-run deficit with a six-run eighth inning and stunning the Padres, 10-9, to earn a series split at Coors Field.

Colorado sent 11 men to the plate in the eighth inning, putting five hits and three walks together as San Diego’s bullpen imploded under the relentless assault.

“You never know how it's gonna play out,” manager Bud Black said of the dramatic turnaround. “That's why you stay to the end.”

It was the Rockies' first six-run inning since a six-run eighth against Kansas City on June 2, 2023 which, coincidentally, also happened in the eighth inning.

Brendan Rodgers sparked the rally with a one-out double down the right-field line off Yuki Matsui -- his third hit of the night. After a walk to Jake Cave, rookie Hunter Goodman, making his first start of the season, launched a 448-foot three-run shot to left to bring the Rockies within two. It was the Rockies’ longest homer of the season and the longest homer at Coors Field this year.

Following the homer, Jacob Stallings added a single and Ezequiel Tovar walked, setting up Brenton Doyle's RBI single to plate Stallings with his third hit of the night. After a passed ball by Luis Campusano tied the game at nine, a two-out double from Elias Díaz gave the Rockies a one-run lead to take to the ninth.

Justin Lawrence closed it out with a perfect ninth for his second save of the series and the season.

With Charlie Blackmon getting a day off Thursday, Black tweaked his lineup, moving Doyle to the two-hole after batting seventh on Monday and Tuesday and sixth on Wednesday. Doyle looked like a natural at the top of the order and boasted good contact, speed and patience, the result being three hits and a walk in five trips to the dish.

“He gets base hits, and he takes good swings, and he took a good walk in the middle part of the game to lay off a breaking ball,” Black said. “Those are the moments that register with players -- the work they put in, and then you lay off a breaking ball. It tells you that he's sort of getting it. All these moments are good for the future.”

There were signs of Doyle’s future on display last season, when he won a Gold Glove in center as a rookie but struggled to hit, posting a .593 OPS across 431 plate appearances. He made some key adjustments during the offseason and continues to work on his approach on a daily basis.

“I just simplified everything,” Doyle explained. “My swing, keeping my body a little quieter, keeping my head quieter, and letting the ball come to me rather than trying to go get the ball.”

The work has resulted in his team-leading .330 batting average with seven doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He’s hitting .406 (13-for-32) over his last nine games, and on Thursday, stole two bags.

Doyle’s also having better luck than he saw in his rookie campaign, when he had a lot of good contact and hard-hit balls but couldn’t seem to “hit ‘em where they ain’t.”

“I guess the game’s trying to treat me a little better, and I'm finding more holes and more base hits,” Doyle said. “It's been fun.”

Starting pitcher Dakota Hudson lasted only 3 1/3 innings, yielding six runs on six hits, but a big stop by Peter Lambert who pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings, kept the Rockies within striking distance.

“Peter calmed the waters for 2 2/3, just giving up the sac fly to [Jake] Cronenworth and put up two zeros after that. That was big for Peter to get the ship righted a little bit.”

The series split meant the end of a rough stretch of water that found the Rockies losing their first seven series of the season. Still, eight series without a series win establishes a new Rockies record to start a season.

“We're off to a tough start, so every one we get, we feel good about it,” Black said. “If we stay at it, we know some numbers are going to turn around. We just got to hang in there and change the vibe. These types of wins really help.”

Goodman has only been back with the team a couple days since his call-up, but he could already feel that vibe shifting.

“That can definitely give a team momentum when you come back like that,” Goodman said. “We’ll go on the road and try and keep that momentum going.”