Chacin, Padres derail streaking Dodgers

July 3rd, 2017

SAN DIEGO -- Behind a gritty start by and early offense provided by the top of the lineup, the Padres won the final game of their series against the Dodgers, 5-3, on Sunday at Petco Park.
Chacin's streak of five straight quality starts came to an end, but he pitched five shutout innings. He has posted a 2.61 ERA in his past six starts. Chacin grinded through 107 pitches as he stranded nine Dodgers on base, six of them in scoring position, and he continued to dominate at Petco Park, where he now has a 1.68 ERA in 2017.
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"He worked hard for this one, about as hard as you could work for a win," Padres manager Andy Green said. "It was Houdini-esque pitching. He was in danger every inning but never broke. They were never able to get one against him. Those were five hard-fought innings. You could tell he wanted that."
Chacin allowed at least one baserunner in every inning, leaving the bases loaded in the third.
"They're a really good-hitting team, and you have to make good pitches to get them out," Chacin said. "When I get runners on base, it's trying to make good pitches, trying to limit damage. I'm happy to be able to shut the door."

The Padres provided him early run support as two-hole hitter homered in the first off Dodgers right-hander . Batting with the bases loaded in the third, Chacin brought in a run by grounding into a double play before leadoff man slashed a double into center to score another run. Margot then traded places with Pirela with an RBI double, giving him his fourth multihit game in six contests since coming off the disabled list.
Green said Margot has the potential to hit 15-20 homers per season.
"For me, he just has consistently competitive at-bats and he puts the ball in play," Green said. "He's going to win a lot because of that. The home run is nice. The power is in there, and I think it's going to come in due time. But he's just a really solid offensive contributor for us right now."
In the fourth, Pirela added an RBI single to give San Diego a 5-0 lead against Maeda, who allowed 10 Padres to reach base in his 3 2/3 innings. The Los Angeles bullpen followed him with 4 1/3 shutout frames as the Dodgers attempted a rally.
, one of Los Angeles' four All-Stars, ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to get the Dodgers on the board in the sixth, and added a solo shot in the seventh. But San Diego's relievers, including first-time All-Star Brad Hand, preserved the Padres' second victory in nine tries against their division rival, as the Dodgers went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and stranded a dozen.
Hand to represent Padres at All-Star Game

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Maeda, whose five runs allowed were his most since April 22, lacked the "attack mode" that had made him successful in recent starts. Roberts was non-committal about Maeda's next start.
Maeda didn't argue.
"I didn't have much life to the fastball and my offspeed pitches weren't crisp," said Maeda. "It's disappointing, even though I didn't have my best stuff I couldn't battle it out. I'm hoping I can get back on the right track. It's really important I have a strong finish."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Mar-going ahead: Margot wasted no time extended his hitting streak to five games, sending a 3-2 fastball from Maeda out to center field for his fifth home run with one out in the first. The shot gave the Padres their first lead in the past 30 innings they played against the Dodgers. During his hitting streak, Margot is 10-for-19 with the homer, three doubles, four steals, four RBIs and six runs scored.
"I think going to El Paso helped me quite a bit," Margot said through a team interpreter. "I learned a lot there, so being back there for a couple days and getting back in the rhythm of seeing pitches."

Seager stars: entered Sunday's contest yet to allow a run in his Major League career, with 10 scoreless appearances since his callup from Triple-A El Paso, two shy of matching the Padres' record. That streak ended when Seager's two-run rocket off brought in a pair of baserunners Maton had put on base. After homering in Saturday's game, Seager added three more hits Sunday, not to mention a spectacular backhanded catch on a popup.
7-time All-Star Kershaw leads Dodgers' crew

QUOTABLE
"We have a really young group here. I think you're always trying to focus on doing things the right way, working hard and taking care of that. As a season, as a team, the results haven't been there, but I think you're seeing a future. I think you're seeing something that can grow. For example, beating a team like the Dodgers that's playing tremendous baseball right now, it's encouraging. It's good to see, and it's something to take pride in." -- Margot
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Padres tied their own Major League record Sunday with five Venezuelan-born players in their starting lineup, including Chacin, catcher , first baseman , second baseman and left fielder Pirela. Strangely enough, Sanchez is the only holdover from the starting nine last Sept. 13 in San Francisco, when they became the first team in history with five Venezuelan-born starters.

RENFROE RAKES
Lost among the Padres' run scoring was right fielder , with none of his four hits leading to a runner crossing home. Renfroe became the first player this season to go 4-for-4 with no runs scored and no RBIs.
Renfroe, tied for the Padres' lead in homers, has struggled at time with making contact this season. So he was pleased that three of his four hits while he was in two-strike counts.
"Was able to see some pitches and able to get some pitches I could drive and able to do something with, and obviously, a lot of them came with two strikes," Renfroe said. "That was pretty cool."
Renfroe, 25, was among several young Padres who contributed to Sunday's victory, including Margot, Pirela and catcher Luis Torrens, a Rule 5 Draft pick who helped the pitching staff navigate through the Dodgers' lineup.
"Watch out in the future," Renfroe said. "Today, obviously, we were good."

WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers:, named to his seventh straight All-Star Game on Sunday, will try to keep his remarkable first half rolling when he starts Tuesday night's 6:10 p.m. PT series opener against the D-backs. He allowed Arizona one run on four hits in a 7-1 victory April 14 and is 13-8 with a 2.66 ERA lifetime against the NL West rival.
Padres: will come off the disabled list to start Tuesday's 4:10 p.m. PT series opener against Cleveland. The right-hander hasn't pitched since May 13 thanks to a strained right shoulder but was effective before the injury, posting a 3.27 ERA across seven starts. Manager Andy Green said he hopes to get five or six innings out of Cahill.
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