Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.
It appears that two key Padres hitters -- Wil Myers and Melvin Upton Jr. -- are getting warm.
First baseman Myers had two hits and a walk in four plate appearances Sunday while left fielder Upton followed Saturday night's 14th-inning, two-run, walk-off homer with a triple in four at-bats Sunday.
Upton was 5-for-15 in the three-game series against Arizona with a triple, a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored. He has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games (13-for-36) with a double, a triple, two home runs, five RBIs and seven runs scored. Upton is hitting .289 for the season.
Myers' batting average stands at .288. He is 7-for-11 with a walk since ending an 18 at-bat hitless streak. Myers has also struck out 19 times in 52 at-bats and has struck out at least once in every game he's played this season.
Other Padres continue to struggle with the bat.
Center fielder Jon Jay singled Saturday to end an 18 at-bat hitless streak before getting Sunday off. Right fielder Matt Kemp is in a 4-for-27 drought. Catcher Derek Norris is 2-for-18. And second baseman Cory Spangenberg is in a 4-for-23 slump, although he is riding a three-game hitting streak.
As a team, the Padres are hitting .226. Their 128 strikeouts is the second-highest total in the Major Leagues, while they rank near the bottom in walks (34), on-base percentage (.281) and slugging percentage (.329).
Notes from the scorebook
• Left-handed starter Robbie Erlin entered Sunday's game with a 0.93 earned run average after his first two outings. But he gave up six runs on eight hits, including three homers, in six innings Sunday to see his ERA shoot up to 4.02. Erlin probably pitched an inning or two longer than expected to save the bullpen, which worked eight innings in Saturday night's marathon.
• After giving up seven runs on eight hits and two walks in his first two Major League innings, Rule 5 right-hander Luis Perdomo worked a third straight scoreless inning Sunday to lower his ERA from 54.00 to 12.60. Perdomo picked up his first Major League win with a scoreless inning in Saturday night's 14-inning marathon.
• Reserve outfielder Jabari Blash is 2-for-15 eight strikeouts, including seven in his last nine plate appearances.