Behind the big bats of Miguel Tejada and Adrian Gonzalez, the Padres extended their lead in the NL West to a season high six and a half games over the Giants with a 9-3 win over the Diamondbacks.
“[Miguel] jumped on Joe [Saunders] early, and he hit it to one of toughest parts of the ballpark,” Bud Black said after the game. “[Gonzalez’s] homer was big, stretched the lead.
“It’s nice to add a little power to the lineup.”
Wade LeBlanc (8-11) gave the Padres another solid outing in the win. He lasted 6 2/3 innings while giving up three runs on seven hits and struck out seven. Although he only walked two, LeBlanc struggled to find his location for much of the game.
“I thought he did a good job of controlling the game,” Black said. “His fastball was good and his changeup was effective.”
Stephen Drew led off the game for the Diamondbacks in the first with his fourth career leadoff home run. It was hit in the short porch out in right field and needed to be reviewed by instant replay to be ruled a home run.
That was just he beginning of one of the best nights of Drew’s career. He ended the night going 4-for-4 with two home runs and two doubles. It was Drew’s first career multi-home run game.
“Four mistakes to Drew, and he did what he’s supposed to do with them,” LeBlanc said after the game.
“I think he has to go back to the drawing board with Stephen Drew,” Black joked.
San Diego quickly bounced back from the early deficit with a two-run home run from Tejada on an 0-2 pitch, scoring David Eckstein. It was Tejada’s second home run since being acquired from the Orioles before the July 31 deadline.
Gonzalez added to the lead in the third with a three run homer to right. It was his 26th of the season and 156th of his career with the Padres, tying him for second on the team’s all time list with Phil Nevin.
Tejada and David Eckstein directed the offensive outburst by going a combined 5-for-7 with six runs scored and two walks.
The extra run support was much appreciated for LeBlanc, who had been the victim of a 2.47 average run support at home.
The Padres roughed up Joe Saunders (1-4) to give him his worst outing of the season. Although he suffered from a few defensive miscues, Saunders still gave up eight hits and walked three in just four innings, resulting in nine runs for the Padres. He struggled with control the entire game, finding the strike zone on just 47 of 84 pitches.
Although the Padres proved again they could power their way to a win every now and then, their always even-keeled manager will not let them play any different
“I think our game hasn’t changed. The names have changed, but we’re still going to play our game with the players we have,” Black said
Notes
San Diego is now 8-0 against the Diamondbacks at Petco Park this season, and have won nine in a row against Arizona dating back to last season…The Padres are now 27 games above .500 for the first time since 1998…Their 6.5 games lead is the largest for San Diego since 2005.
Craig Elsten -
Chainsaw -
