Padres power up with 4 HRs, 7-run 5th vs. ATL

SAN DIEGO -- Eric Hosmer knows all about the emotions the MLB Draft engenders, especially the night before.
"You definitely don't get much sleep," said Hosmer, the third player taken in the 2008 Draft by Kansas City. "There is so much excitement to find out where you are going to end up."
One day short of the 10th anniversary of his selection, Hosmer had another of the kind of games that scouts saw coming.
Hosmer contributed a homer, a double and three RBIs as the Padres continued to make Petco Park look about the size of a doggy bed with an 11-4 victory over National League East-leading Atlanta in the first game of a three-game series on Monday.

The Padres had a season-high nine extra-base hits and tied a season high with four homers, all with the bases empty.
"It's just timely hitting," Hosmer said. "We are getting those big hits with guys in scoring position, those big two-out hits with guys on. We've done a really good job of capitalizing on that."
The Padres have won three in a row and six of seven for the first time since June 18-25, 2016, in a suddenly very tight NL West.
In so doing, they have scored 47 runs in the last seven games, with at least six runs in each of the last three.
"We feel like we were tested early," Hosmer said. "We had a pretty good schedule, playing some teams that were ahead in divisions and playing some good baseball at the time. We felt like we held our own at that time, and we just felt like we had to keep doing what were doing from an offensive standpoint. I think we've been doing a good job of that, especially in this homestand."
Hosmer picked on an 82-mph changeup to homer in the first inning off Julio Teheran, and he doubled in a two runs in a seven-run fifth inning off three Atlanta pitchers to blow open the game. He has 16 hits in his last 31 at-bats over seven games, with six multihit games, to raise his slash line to .293/.379/.477.
"Just sticking with everything," he said. "Just sticking with my approach and sticking with my game plan. Just trusting that it will be there in the long run. It's been working out this past homestand. Just trying to keep sticking to that plan."
Hunter Renfroe, Travis Jankowski and Jose Pirela doubled, Cory Spangenberg tripled, and Spangenberg, Raffy Lopez and Franmil Reyes homered. Reyes has four homers in the last six games.

"Everybody did something really positive," manager Andy Green said.
Pirela walked and Renfroe doubled to open the fifth inning before the Padres scored all their runs with two outs, starting with Freddy Galvis' sacrifice fly. Spangenberg tripled, Lopez singled and Clayton Richard walked before consecutive doubles by Jankowski, Hosmer and Pirela.
"A lot of fun," Hosmer said of the way the Padres passed the baton in the fifth, forcing two pitching changes. "Especially the first game of the series, to dig into their bullpen early, we all know how good that bullpen is, so it is big for us to dig in there the first game. Hopefully that can show up in the later games of the series."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Richard keeps 'pen rested: With the Padres scheduled for a bullpen day on Wednesday, Richard did his best to keep the relievers fresh by going seven innings, although that is nothing new. He has pitched at least seven innings in five of his last six starts. This one may have had a little more significance, as it was his first victory in 10 games against Atlanta.

"It's huge," Richard said. "It changes the game. You go from making sure you are executing pitches to making sure you are throwing strikes. It's fun to have those types of games."
Richard has made five consecutive quality starts at Petco, giving up 15 runs in 44 innings for a 3.06 ERA.
Raffy's work paying off: Lopez has spent hours in the cages and video room working to keep his lower body in line as he attacks a pitch. It started in the Los Angeles series, and during games he wasn't playing, he would go into the batting cage and take some swings.
He had an RBI single to end a 2-for 29 skid on Sunday, and three hits -- including a homer -- on Monday.
"I think it is starting to click," Lopez said. "Just because I was hitting what I was hitting, I wasn't going up there thinking I couldn't hit. But when your body is doing something for so long, you have to work on it to fix it."

HE SAID IT
"It was as fun of an inning we have had from an offensive perspective all year. There were a lot of hard-hit baseballs all over the yard, balls hit the other way." -- Green, on the seven-run fifth

UP NEXT
Tuesday starter Jordan Lyles has been on a nice run since joining the rotation on May 10, going 2-1 with a 3.64 ERA in five starts covering 29 2/3 innings. His peripherals during that stretch have been notable -- 31 strikeouts and nine walks -- and he has been nails at home, giving up two earned runs on seven hits in 14 1/3 innings. Sean Newcomb will take the hill for the Braves. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. PT.