Padres assert their Wil(l)s against D-backs
PHOENIX -- Will Venable had three hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh as the Padres beat the D-backs, 6-5, on Friday night at Chase Field to snap Arizona's three-game winning streak and even the series at a game apiece.
Venable was 3-for-5 with the game-winning single, a triple and a home run, while Wil Myers tied a career high with four hits. Venable (double shy) and Myers (triple shy) both had a shot at hitting for the first cycle in Padres history. The offense was enough to make a winner of James Shields (4-0), who allowed five runs on six hits, including four home runs, over six innings.
"How did my stuff feel today? Not very good," Shields said. "It was a pretty bad day for me today. I was getting behind in the count for the most part, and they were capitalizing on my mistakes. But the good news is we won the game."
D-backs starter Jeremy Hellickson struggled as well, allowing five runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision.
"Changeup wasn't as good as it should be," Hellickson said. "But I felt like I had good enough stuff and good enough command to pitch a lot better than I did."
Video: SD@ARI: Kimbrel strikes out Pollock to earn the save
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Lotta long balls: The four home runs by Chris Owings, A.J. Pollock, Paul Goldschmidt and David Peralta were the most homers the D-backs have hit in a game since May 17, 2014. The shots by Goldschmidt and Peralta were the first back-to-back homers hit by the team this season. More >
Video: SD@ARI: D-backs club four homers vs. Padres
Wil(l) power: Venable and Myers combined for seven hits and three RBIs, but they also scored a pair of key runs on fielders' choice grounders. In the fourth, Alexi Amarista beat second baseman Aaron Hill's throw to the plate. Likewise in the fifth, Justin Upton was past the plate when Hellickson tried to scoop a throw in that direction. More >
Video: SD@ARI: Myers flirts with cycle in four-hit night
Shields giveth, taketh away: Shields struck out seven but allowed four home runs, including back-to-back shots by Goldschmidt and Peralta leading off the sixth. Shields has now struck out 55 and allowed 11 homers, seven of them in his last two starts.
QUOTABLE
"I felt good. I've been working on it before the games and stuff. I felt really good over there. I felt normal." -- Myers, on playing only his third Major League game at first base, first for the Padres
Video: SD@ARI: Myers catches sharp liner to end the frame
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Reflecting on Friday night's pitching matchup of former Rays teammates Shields and Hellickson, Padres manager Bud Black said he once faced old friend Charlie Leibrandt multiple times in one season. The pair, previously on the same Royals staff, had moved on: Black to the Giants, Leibrandt to the Braves. Actually, they started against each other seven times, five in 1991 and two more in '92.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Pollock hit a chopper to third in the bottom of the seventh that Yangervis Solarte barehanded and threw to first. Pollock was initially called out, but the call was overturned after the D-backs challenged the play. The review took just 52 seconds.
Video: SD@ARI: Pollock is safe at first after a challenge
WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: Chase Anderson (0-1, 3.38 ERA) will take the mound for the D-backs on Saturday night as they continue their series with the Padres at 5:10 p.m. MST. Anderson deserved a win his last time out against the Dodgers, as he tossed six scoreless innings in what turned out to be a 1-0, 13-inning loss.
Padres: Tyson Ross (1-3, 4.15) will try to stave off the early-season blahs in the third game of a four-game series at Chase Field. It's a 5:10 p.m. PT start.
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