Padres power past Rangers with 3 homers
SAN DIEGO -- Ryan Schimpf, Austin Hedges and Cory Spangenberg all went deep, giving Trevor Cahill more than enough support Monday night as the Padres beat the Rangers, 5-1.Cahill -- a Vista High School graduate -- has thrived pitching for his hometown team this season. He allowed one hit over
SAN DIEGO --
Cahill -- a Vista High School graduate -- has thrived pitching for his hometown team this season. He allowed one hit over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out seven. The veteran right-hander could have been chasing a no-hitter but for
It was an impressive performance for Cahill, whose opponent changed on short notice when his start was pushed back a day. After Sunday's postponement, Cahill remained at Petco Park for a few hours, poring over scouting reports and making certain he was prepared for the Rangers.
"In the beginning, he was as sharp as any pitcher this year," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He had literally everything working in the first couple innings. … He didn't necessarily lose his stuff, it was just the pinpoint command. But he still was really, really good today."
Rangers righty
"I had a couple of balls that came back over the plate and they did some damage," Martinez said.
"It was definitely a team win," Schimpf said. "Guys swung the bats well. We had good at-bats as a team, and Trev threw a great game."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Helping Hand: Cahill ran into trouble in the sixth, when walked and plunked consecutive batters. That's when Green called upon Brad Hand to face Joey Gallo, who is second in the American League with 10 homers this season. Hand threw three sharp curveballs in the strike zone, and Gallo watched all three. Hand would strike out
"Instead of trying to strike somebody out, maybe just go for weak contact," Cahill said of his rising pitch count, which also contributed to the early exit. "But our bullpen is good. I go up there and try to get outs. However they come, I'll take outs."
Rally-starter Schimpf: Safe to say Schimpf's slump is over. After homering off
QUOTABLE
"You can't explain it. It's just baseball. The only positive really is we are all kind of struggling at once, so maybe we will all get hot at once and have some fun." -- Lucroy, on the Rangers' offensive malaiseMore >
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
• Hand has dominated left-handed hitters all season. But Choo managed to solve him with his solo blast in the seventh. It was the first homer by a left-handed hitter against Hand since the Nationals'
• The Rangers (13-20) fell to seven games under .500 for the first time May 19, 2015.
WHAT'S NEXT
Rangers: Right-hander A.J. Griffin, who grew up in San Diego, caps the San Diego half of the series for Texas with first pitch at 2:40 p.m. CT. Griffin has won his first three decisions for the second season in a row. All three of his wins this year have come on the road.
Padres:
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AJ Cassavell covers the Padres for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajcassavell.
Jay Paris is a contributor for MLB.com based in San Diego and covered the Rangers on Monday.