The right-hander went about pitching the first three innings as if he was writing an instruction manual — continually getting ahead and then throwing his knuckleball at will.

His midgame lull came in the bottom of the fourth.

After Waldron retired Charlie Blackmon on a pop-up near the mound to start the inning, the Rockies got their first base runners of the game, as Waldron fell behind and lost seven-pitch battles with Ezequiel Tovar and Ryan McMahon, walking both.

Elias Díaz followed with the Rockies’ first hit, which loaded the bases. On the grounder to the hole at shortstop, Kim made a diving stop to keep the ball in the infield. He almost threw out Díaz and, significantly, kept Tovar from rounding third and going home.

That turned out to be a run-saving play, as the inning was over three pitches later on a pop fly out by Elehuris Montero and groundout by Brendan Doyle.

Waldron followed a lead-off single in the fifth with three quick outs, and the Padres increased their lead in the sixth by emerging from a mire of their own.

They had followed their big first inning with a promising start to the second. But singles by Kyle Higashioka and Bogaerts were followed by 10 straight outs, as Blach made it through five innings.

Again, the Padres jumped on a new pitcher.

Singles by Profar and Kim greeted Victor Vodnik. Kim’s hit was a magnificently placed bunt to the left side that third baseman McMahon threw well wide of first base and into foul territory, allowing Profar and Kim to take an extra base. Profar scored on a groundout by Merrill.

McMahon’s home run over the wall in right-center got the Rockies back to within four, and Waldron had runners at first and second when he got Brendan Rodgers on a fielder’s choice grounder to shortstop to end the sixth.

After Yuki Matsui worked a scoreless seventh, Wandy Peralta surrendered a two-run homer by Díaz that caromed off Merrill’s glove at the top of the wall in center field in the eighth.

Robert Suarez took seven pitches to complete a scoreless ninth and move into a tie for the MLB lead with his ninth save.

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