Cabrera lone Padres hitter off to good start

MIAMI -- You'll have to dig pretty deep to find a Padres position player who has swung the bat well in the first week of the season.

"We've got to swing the bats better," said manager Bud Black.

Going into Sunday's series finale against the Marlins, leadoff hitter Everth Cabrera leads the team with six hits, four more than Yonder Alonso. Better still, Cabrera, who is hitting .316, has collected five hits in his last 13 at-bats.

"I like the fact that he's putting the ball in play with two strikes," Black said. "We talked about it last year, but he has the ability to work the count. Overall, his at-bats have been very good."

The Padres would like to see Cabrera cut down on his strikeouts -- he has five in 20 plate appearances -- and hit more balls on the ground, like he did Friday when he beat out an infield single. That marked his first infield single of the season. He had 21 of them a year ago, and 24 in 2012.