SAN DIEGO -- Two starting pitchers who battled command issues in the past were matched up at Petco Park on Sunday afternoon.

Colorado Rockies rookie right-hander Jeff Hoffman took a major step forward, holding the San Diego Padres to three hits and a run -- on rookie Hunter Renfroe's 11th homer -- without walking a batter while striking out a career-high nine over seven innings.

The Padres' Jarred Cosart, meanwhile, again stumbled after a fast start and took the loss as Colorado prevailed 3-1 in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Hoffman, 24, was promoted from Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday morning to take the place of left-hander Tyler Anderson in the Colorado rotation. Anderson was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to left knee inflammation.

Hoffman, who was 2-0 with a 3.29 ERA earlier in the season for the Rockies, retired the Padres in order in five of the seven innings he worked while throwing only 89 pitches totals.

Relievers Jake McGee and Greg Holland closed out the game with a perfect inning apiece, with Holland getting his major-league-leading 21st save. The three Rockies pitchers retired 15 straight to close out the win.

"The talent is there," Colorado manager Bud Black said of Hoffman after the Rockies climbed back into sole possession of first place in the National League West.

"He is gifted with the velocity. He is locating his fastball and it has some movement. And I'm impressed with the curveball command. We didn't see that in the spring or last September. But it's about the fastball in the strike zone with movement and velocity. He's pitching with confidence, conviction and belief.

"What he has to do is continue to make pitches. All pitchers have confidence that they can pitch in the big leagues, and I think Jeff has that. But with Jeff, it's the delivery, the mechanics. When you repeat your delivery and mechanics, you are going to make pitches, and he is making pitches."

Hoffman certainly got a boost in confidence Sunday.

Outside of Renfroe circling the bases in the fifth after Colorado led 3-0, he was never in trouble. He retired the first seven Padres he faced. After Erick Aybar singled, he retired another five straight before Renfroe's homer. Hoffman ended his day retiring the last nine Padres he faced.

"I was filling up the zone," Hoffman said. "My curveball was the best I've seen it. It was in the zone when I wanted it in the zone and wasn't when I didn't want it in the zone. When my curve is like that and I have just a little bit of command with my fastball, it's going to be a good day."

Meanwhile, Cosart (0-2) again struggled with his command after a fast start. The right-hander retired eight of the first nine hitters he faced. Eight of the last 11 hitters he faced reached base via five hits and three walks.

The Rockies scored three times in the fourth despite having a runner thrown out at the plate.

DJ LeMahieu opened the inning with a single. After Nolan Arenado struck out, Mark Reynolds hit an opposite-field double down the line in right. Gerardo Parra then tapped a swinging bunt back in front of the mound that Cosart charged and flipped to catcher Austin Hedges, who tagged out LeMahieu trying to score from third.

Hedges then blocked two possible wild pitches in the dirt to freeze Reynolds at third while Cosart was walking Ian Desmond to load the bases. On the eighth pitch of a battle with Cosart, Trevor Story grounded a two-run single to center to break the scoreless tie. Tony Wolters grounded a single to right to score Desmond.

After giving up a leadoff single to Charlie Blackmon to open the fifth, Cosart walked the next two hitters and was pulled. He allowed three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts, the four-plus innings requiring 97 pitches.

Cosart said, "I think I took a big step forward this start over the last two (during which he allowed six runs on seven hits and nine walks in a combined 6 2/3 innings). I threw more quality pitches. Story had a really good at-bat, but I battled back from 2-and-0. I can take some positives from this.

Padres manager Andy Green said, "Cosart's first three innings were good. He was attacking. I liked his body language. He fell behind Story with the bases loaded, and Story is a very good hitter. This was drastically different than his last game. His misses were near misses.

"He has enough movement to keep the ball off the barrel."

The Rockies couldn't cash in on the bases-loaded, no-out situation Cosart left for reliever Craig Stammen in the fifth. Stammen retired Reynolds on a liner to the leaping Aybar at shortstop and got Parra to ground into an inning-ending grounder to Aybar.

Colorado also failed to score runners from scoring position with one out in the seventh and eighth innings and with no outs in the ninth.

NOTES: Rockies, CF Charlie Blackmon, 2B DJ LeMahieu and 3B Nolan Arenado each had three hits in the three game series, and SS Trevor Story had five hits. San Diego LF Alex Dickerson, who has been out since spring training with a protruding disc in his lower back, didn't play Saturday in extended spring training, where he is rehabbing. "Alex would be our cleanup hitter," Padres manager Andy Green said. ... Padres RHP Carter Capps (Tommy John surgery in March 2016) pitched an inning Saturday in extended spring training. He could be close to starting a second rehab stint with an affiliated minor league team. He made eight minor league appearances in April. ... Padres LF Allen Cordoba stayed in the game after hitting the padded left field fence with his head while catching a line drive in the second inning.