Norris continues to own Nationals

SAN DIEGO -- For the record, Padres catcher Derek Norris has nothing whatsoever against the Nationals, the team that drafted and signed him in 2007. It only appears that way when he faces them.

Norris continued to torment the organization that developed him, drilling a three-run home run in the first inning Thursday and adding a two-run triple in the second as the Padres pinned an 8-3 loss on the Nationals on a soggy night at Petco Park.

In four career games against the Nationals, Norris is 6-for-12 with three home runs and 12 RBIs. Six of those RBIs came a year ago while he was with the A's as he hit two home runs in one game off the pitcher he was traded for -- Gio Gonzalez.

"Last year, it was two 3-0 counts with runners on," Norris said.

Video: WSH@SD: Norris hits a three-run shot to left-center

Following a one-hour, 56-minute rain delay in the top of the first, play resumed with the Padres (19-17) getting to Nationals right-hander Doug Fister right away. Norris jumped on a 1-0 pitch up the strike zone, sending it over the wall in left field for his third home run of the year.

One inning later, he nearly did it again, settling for a two-run triple off the wall and a 7-0 Padres lead.

"I put a couple big swings on a couple mistakes," he said. "After a bit of a tough road trip for me, it was nice to get off to a good start."

That it came against the Nationals, Norris said, didn't mean anything more than a strong start to a seven-game homestand.

The Nationals used their fourth-round pick in 2007 on Norris, who was a third baseman-catcher at Goddard High School in Kansas. Shortly thereafter, they converted him into a full-time catcher.

Norris reached Double-A in 2011, hitting 22 home runs but was dealt in December of that year to the A's as part of a six-player deal that saw Gonzalez head to the Nationals.

"It's crazy, but I don't know if there's anything to it," Norris said of his success against the Nationals.

San Diego manager Bud Black likes the way Norris has swung the bat this season, especially at Petco Park, where he's hitting .322 with all three of his home runs and 15 of his 23 RBIs.

"He's had a nice [first] six weeks of the season," Black said of Norris, who is hitting.304 overall. "He's got that [power] in him. That was huge for us tonight."