D-backs take early lead, fend off Padres' rally

PHOENIX -- The D-backs' bats came alive as they collected 10 hits and got a solid outing from Zack Greinke to snap a four-game losing streak by beating the Padres, 8-7, on Saturday night at Chase Field.
The Arizona offense got going early with a two-run first inning and it added five more in the second, chasing Padres starter Cesar Vargas (0-3). Michael Bourn drove home a pair of runs with a single and Paul Goldschmidt capped the inning with a two-run homer to left, his ninth of the year.
"We came out firing," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "Lot of good at-bats and obviously pitch-counted Vargas and did a nice job. Made him throw the ball where we wanted to hit it and guys got him. Goldy of course the big home run, but a lot of good at-bats by a lot of guys so that was good early on. I just wanted to keep adding on, that's one of the things we're really stressing and we're going to get better at."
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Matt Kemp hit a solo homer in the first, but the Padres offense struggled to do anything else against Greinke through the first five innings. Finally in the sixth, they broke through with three runs, thanks in part to three doubles, to cut the D-backs lead to 8-4. They added three runs in a ninth-inning rally against Brad Ziegler.
"It's a tribute to the guys, how hard they fight, to get all the way back to one against a very good closer," said Padres skipper Andy Green. "… When you're down 7-1 to Zack Greinke and you come back and make it an 8-7 ballgame, there's a lot to build on the next day."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Bourn to run: Bourn has been quite a pickup for the D-backs after being designated for assignment by the Blue Jays earlier this month. He is 11-for-22 in five games started for the D-backs, after his 3-for-4 performance Saturday night.
"Really good," Hale said of Bourn. "It's tough to take him out of the lineup even with a lefty going because he's got a good stroke going." More >

2-3-4 deliver: Bourn, Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb combined to go 6-for-11 with five runs scored and six RBIs. What had to be particularly encouraging for the D-backs was Goldschmidt collecting a double, homer and a pair of walks. The one out he made was a hard hit line drive that first baseman Wil Myers made a diving catch on.
"It was good for the team to score, come out early and get those two runs after Kemp hit that homer and then tack on another five there," Goldschmidt said. "We were trying to score the rest of the game, but we got one more. We did a pretty good job getting guys on, we just weren't able to broaden the lead a little bit."

Off-base: With one out in the sixth, Yangervis Solarte hit what appeared to be a routine bouncer to first. But the ball ricocheted off the side of the bag and past Goldschmidt down the right-field line. It resulted in an RBI double, but Solarte would be thrown out at the plate on Brett Wallace's single later in the frame.
"If we had it back to do it all over again, we might've not been as aggressive in that moment," Green said. "But you make split-second decisions out there, they're sometimes very difficult in the heat of the moment, and we've erred on the side of aggression for the majority of the year. I'm OK with that." More >

Make it 19: Closer Fernando Rodney tossed a scoreless eighth, giving him 19 innings without an earned run this season -- the most among all relief pitchers. He's one inning away from tying the Padres' record for relievers for consecutive frames without an earned run to start a season. Butch Metzger pieced together 20 straight in 1976.
"Fernando's had a great feel all year on the mound for us," said Green. "I don't like the idea of him sitting for seven, eight or nine innings before he pitches. Sometimes you've just got to get him out there. He did a really good job."
NOT CUTTING IT
Throughout his rookie campaign, Vargas' biggest weapon has been his cutter -- one which opposing hitters have had a hard time squaring up. Vargas' 88.6 average exit velocity against is the lowest among Padres starters.
But Saturday night, that cutter simply didn't have the same late movement that it did during his previous six outings. As a result, Vargas was hit hard, allowing a career-high seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings.
"He was up in the zone, and it wasn't cutting, and that's a bad recipe for him," said Green.
ROSTER MOVE
The D-backs optioned reliever Dominic Leone to Triple-A Reno following the game to make room for right-hander Archie Bradley, who is scheduled to start Sunday's game. Bradley was 5-1 with a 1.99 ERA in seven starts for Reno this year.
AFTER REVIEW
• A Luis Perdomo fastball appeared to graze Jean Segura in the helmet in the bottom of the fourth, and Segura trotted to first base after home-plate umpire Todd Tichenor ruled as much. But after a challenge by Green, replays showed that the ball never hit Segura's helmet, instead deflecting off the handle of his bat for strike two. The call was overturned and Segura would ground out to first.

• The Padres made it a perfect 2-for-2 on reviews in the seventh inning, after Chris Owings' shot to straightaway center field was ruled a homer. After an umpire review, replays showed that the ball hit below the yellow line on the center-field wall, the call was overturned and the hit was ruled a double.

• Owings followed his homer-turned-double by swiping third, but was initially ruled out. This time, Hale challenged, and the call was overturned when the replay showed that Owings' hand reached the base before Wallace applied the tag.

WHAT'S NEXT
Padres:Drew Pomeranz looks to continue his torrid start to the season when the Padres finish their series with the D-backs on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PT. Pomeranz's 1.70 ERA through nine starts is the third lowest in Padres history -- behind only Randy Jones in 1975 and Jake Peavy in 2007.
D-backs: Archie Bradley will be called up from Triple-A Reno to start Sunday's series finale against the Padres at 1:10 p.m. MST. This will be Bradley's third start for the D-backs. And his third stint in the big leagues this year.
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