A's pound Padres with 20 hits, win 4th straight
OAKLAND -- The A's scored. Then they scored some more. Then they scored even more, running away with a 16-2 win over the Padres on Pride Night at the Coliseum on Wednesday.
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A's starter Jesse Chavez entered the day with the worst run support in the Majors (1.76). On Wednesday, the A's scored more than enough for him, plating four in the first, one in the third, four in the seventh and seven in the eighth.
"We had 20 hits," Billy Butler said. "That doesn't happen too many times, and it was a real good win for us at home."
Video: SD@OAK: A's plate seven runs in the 8th inning
Chavez struck out 11 and allowed just one run in seven innings. The A's took the first game of a two-game set and will look for a season-high fifth straight on Thursday.
"We couldn't figure out their guy," Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said. "Let's face it, we didn't have very good at-bats."
Video: SD@OAK: Chavez fans career-high 11 in win
Butler hit a towering three-run shot in the first, and Ben Zobrist added a two-run double off Frank Garces in the seventh, finishing the night 3-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs and a home run away from the cycle. The A's did so much damage in the eighth that shortstop Alexi Amarista came in to close out the inning.
Video: SD@OAK: Amarista pitches, retires Burns to end frame
Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne gave up six earned runs in six innings, including an RBI single to Zobrist in the first and a sacrifice fly to Stephen Vogt in the third. Amarista and third baseman Will Middlebrooks provided the lone offense for the Padres with a solo home run apiece.
"After the first I just tried to forget about everything and keep the game where it was," Despaigne said. "I felt good, but it just happened so fast I couldn't do much about it. I just tried to make pitches."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Way of the K: Chavez's 11 strikeouts were a career high. His career high entering the game was nine, and his season high was seven. He surrendered just three hits, one walk and one run on 103 pitches.
"He was going to go out for the eighth until we scored a few more runs," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "I'm sure he was thinking, 'Why don't you save a few of these for me for a little bit later? You don't have to do it all in one day.'"
Video: SD@OAK: Melvin discusses A's blowout win over Padres
A little bit of power: Amarista hit the first pitch of the sixth inning well up into the right-field bleachers to put the Padres on the scoreboard. It was his second home run of the season and his first since April 26. He extended his hitting streak to a season-best seven games.
Video: SD@OAK: Amarista goes yard to get Padres on the board
Running away with it: The A's have scored 39 runs in their last four games and have outscored their opponents 304-266 this season, yet they are last in the American League West. More >
Video: SD@OAK: Zobrist doubles home two in the 7th
Finishing strong: It wasn't Despaigne's best night, but he was much better after the first inning, giving up just three hits and keeping the damage at a minimum. He completed six innings for the eighth time in 10 starts.
QUOTABLE
"I asked him if he was sore from playing the field yesterday, and we just talked about how he had ran a lot in the last two days. He's going to probably be sore tomorrow, too." -- Billy Burns on Butler, who had two infield singles
Video: SD@OAK: Butler collects four hits, belts home run
WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: Right-hander Ian Kennedy (3-5, 3.84) starts Thursday's afternoon special at 12:35 p.m. PT and is coming off a good outing in which he received a no-decision. Kennedy is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA over his past three starts. He's facing the Athletics for the first time since allowing seven runs over 5 2/3 innings in July 2011.
Athletics: Kendall Graveman (3-3, 4.22) will pitch for the A's, who are looking for a season-high fifth straight win. Graveman has tossed seven or more innings and allowed one run or fewer in each of his last two starts but has a no-decision and a loss in those two games. He is coming off his first career complete game, a 1-0 loss to the Angels on Saturday.
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