Pivetta, Padres bounce back to end homestand on a high note

SAN DIEGO -- There are no must-win games on April 1. The season is long, and the Padres could very well have survived a 1-5 homestand to start the year. Good teams go through 1-5 stretches all the time.

But, well, you’d rather go 2-4, wouldn’t you? Especially if it means avoiding a sweep at the hands of a division rival. Sure enough, the mood feels a whole lot different after a finale like Wednesday’s -- a 7-1 victory over the Giants at Petco Park.

Nick Pivetta was back to his dominant self, allowing just one hit over five scoreless innings. The fastball command that eluded him during his Opening Day start last week? It was back, in full force. Pivetta ripped off fastballs at a 68% clip and put them wherever he wanted. He averaged a whopping 21 inches of carry (induced vertical break) on the pitch, too -- the driving force behind his eight strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Gavin Sheets, who had gotten off to a dreadful start, finally broke out. He swatted a pair of doubles, then walked during a four-run eighth. In that eighth inning, Ramón Laureano launched a two-run homer, his second of the season.

It was a much-needed offensive outburst from a Padres team that hadn’t scored more than three runs in any of its first five games. Mason Miller, who entered when the lead was only two in the eighth inning, picked up a four-out save.