ICYMI: Padres ride 15-hit performance to NY victory
One night after being shut out and nearly going hitless against the Mets in Tuesday's series opener at Citi Field, the Padres came back with a vengeance on Wednesday night, and pounded out 15 hits en route to a 7-3 victory over the Mets. The Swinging Friars certainly lived up to their nickname, as they wasted no time jumping out to 6-1 lead in the third inning after three consecutive two-run frames on 10 hits. From there, Tyson Ross and the Padres bullpen kept the Mets offense out of the equation as San Diego evened the series and forced a deciding rubber match for Thursday.
Ross earned his seventh win of the season -- improving to a 7-8 record with a 3.38 ERA -- after throwing five strong innings on 83 pitches, and surrendering only one earned run on two hits while striking out five. Ross also extended his career-high homerless streak to 100.0 consecutive innings pitched before surrendering a solo home run to Lucas Duda in the second inning. Duda would be the only part of the Mets' offense that gave the Friars any trouble. Duda homered three times off of three Padres relievers, but other than Duda, the Padres' pitching staff kept the Mets in check, surrendering only five hits on the day.
The biggest story Wednesday was the red hot Padres offense that saw six of the seven starting nine enjoy multiple-hits. Outfielder Justin Upton collected three RBIs on the day, including a solo shot in the third inning to extend the Padres' lead. Upton's home run was immediately followed by another solo home run by Yonder Alonso in the very next at-bat, who was included in another Padres back-to-back home run performance with Matt Kemp five days earlier.
Alonso and Upton each enjoyed multi-hit games alongside Will Venable (2-for-5), Jedd Gyorko (2-for-4), Austin Hedges (2-for-4) and perhaps the biggest performer of the day in Yangervis Solarte (4-for-5). The team went 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position while Venable, Kemp and Alexi Amarista all each enjoyed a stolen base on the night, as well. Overall, the Padres offense was a force to be reckoned with, as the team scored seven runs in a single game for the first time since June 27, and improved to a 9-4 record (.692) for their last 13 games.
Thursday will present a quick turnaround for the Friars as Andrew Cashner will face off against Jon Niese in the series finale rubber match at 12:10 p.m. ET (9:10 a.m. PT). In case you missed it, here are some highlights and stories that may have passed you by on Wednesday.
Padres post-game recap: Padres take charge early in win over Mets
Kemp opens the scoring with his 55th RBI of the year in the first inning:
Video: SD@NYM: Kemp puts Padres up early with single
Upton, Alonso drill back-to-back homers in the third inning to extend Friars' lead:
Video: SD@NYM: J. Upton, Alonso deliver back-to-back homers
Solarte goes 4-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and two doubles on Wednesday:
Video: SD@NYM: Solarte goes 4-for-5 with two runs, RBI
Upton collects his third RBI of the day with a single in the sixth inning:
Video: SD@NYM: J. Upton's RBI single plates Solarte in 6th
Top stories of the day
Recovering catcher's future to be decided on day of deadline: Decision looms about Federowicz's fate
Padres' ace happy to keep Petco Park in his plans: Shields foresees fruitful tenure in San Diego
The trophy cabinet can only get bigger for IPK: Kennedy's honors include being a Feller Award finalist
Padres' top prospects shuffled as season rolls on: Padres' Top 30 Prospect list gets midseason update
Down on the Farm: SS Van Gansen, LHP Liriano named Northwest League All-Stars
Notable Notes: Game Notes @ NYM (07.29) Padres turn to Mighty Ross for "Middle-Match" vs. Mets
Looking forward
Friar Forecast: Cashner gets the call in Thursday's matinee rubber match
Thursday's pitching matchup: Andrew Cashner (4-10, 3.93 ERA) vs. Jon Niese (5-9, 3.75 ERA)