Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. Which pretty much explains how the Padres' National League record-tying home run streak ended Friday night at Petco Park.
The streak began June 28, a game after the Padres had been shut out in Cincinnati by Anthony DeSclafani and Tony Cingrini. And it ended Friday night as the same Reds visited Petco Park. This time the shutout was shared by Reds' starter Brandon Finnegan and relievers Michael Lorenzen and Blake Wood.
The book-ending shutouts at each end of the Padres' home run streak were two of three pitched by the Reds this season. And although the Padres had their run of 25 straight games with a home run, they have also been shut out a Major League-leading 12 times this season -- including the back-to-back shutouts at the arms of the Reds, who are on pace to give up a Major League-record 270 home runs this season.
The Padres' 25-game streak of games with at least one home run ties the NL record established by the 1998 Atlanta Braves. The streak is in a four-way tie for the second longest in Major League history. The 2002 Texas Rangers hold the record by homering in 27 straight games. The 1998 Braves, 1994 Detroit Tigers and 1949 New York Yankees also homered in 25 straight games.
The Padres hit a total of 42 homers during their record streak. Ryan Schimpf was the individual leader, with nine home runs. Matt Kemp was second, with seven homers. Yangervis Solarte was third, with six homers, while Alex Dickerson and Melvin Upton Jr. each hit five. Wil Myers had three. Derek Norris, Adam Rosales and Brett Wallace each hit two. Christian Bethancourt hit one homer during the run.
The Padres' old record for consecutive games with a home run was 14 set in 1998.
Dickerson, who had to leave Friday night's game with a right hip contusion suffered in a collision with center fielder Travis Jankowski, and Kemp each homered in four straight games during the streak.
NOTES FROM THE SCOREBOOK
• Padres manager Andy Green said X-rays of Dickerson's injury came back negative. Dickerson was hurt as he and Jankowski were unsuccessfully trying to catch Zack Cozart's one-out drive to left-center field. As Jankowski attempted to make a sliding catch on the warning track just in front of the wall, Dickerson clipped the center fielder's head with his knee and flipped, landing hard on his tailbone and right hip.
• The Padres now have five of the top 100 prospects in baseball after Friday's trade that sent starting pitchers Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea to the Miami Marlins for four prospects. Eighteen-year-old right-handed pitcher Anderson Espinosa (acquired from Boston in the Drew Pomeranz trade) is ranked as the No. 15 prospect overall. Center fielder Manuel Margot is No. 39, outfielder Hunter Renfroe is 66th, shortstop Javier Guerra is 87th and first baseman Josh Naylor (who came to the Padres Friday from the Marlins) is No. 100.
• After seeing his 11-game hitting streak end Wednesday, Kemp was 2-for-3 Friday night. He is 17-for-54 while hitting safely in 12 of his last 13 games with three doubles, seven homers, 11 RBIs and 10 runs scored.