Solarte singlehandedly saves Padres in Texas
ARLINGTON -- Yangervis Solarte hit a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning that sent the Padres to a 6-5 victory over the Rangers on Saturday night. The home run came off Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson, who suffered his first blown save of the season.
"What they did in the ninth, really important," Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said. "There's days you feel like you'll never win another game and nothing goes your way, every lineout, every call. You start being a victim. They owned that ninth inning, and that's what it's about -- taking ownership in your performance."
The Rangers led, 5-3, in the ninth but a pair of one-out hits by Will Venable and Brett Wallace put runners at the corners with one out. After Andrew Cashner pinch-ran for Wallace, Melvin Upton Jr. lined a single down the left-field line. One run scored but Josh Hamilton threw out Cashner trying to go to third. The call was confirmed by replay.
Video: SD@TEX: M. Upton singles to pull Padres closer
Solarte then hit a 1-1 fastball into the right-field seats to give the Padres the lead and help snap their six-game losing streak.
"It's a loss and we feel the sting of the loss," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "But discouragement doesn't enter into it. We don't get discouraged. We have to continue to grind and execute. We are at the part of the season where execution is at a premium to get to where we are going."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Moreland puts Rangers ahead: The game was tied into the bottom of the sixth when Mitch Moreland led off by hitting a cut fastball from James Shields high and deep into the Rangers' bullpen. Moreland had two home runs off Shields after going 3-for-27 with no home runs against him in his career before Saturday.
Video: SD@TEX: Moreland slugs homer No. 15 to open scoring
Kemp gives Padres a chance: With two outs and one on in the third, Matt Kemp took a 3-2 slider from Lewis into the left-field stands to give the Padres a 2-1 lead. The homer was Kemp's fourth extra-base hit in his past four games and his 21st go-ahead RBI this season.
Video: SD@TEX: Kemp launches a homer to give Padres the lead
Fielder salvages inning: The Rangers, trailing, 2-1, had bases loaded with nobody out in the bottom of the third. Poised for a big inning, the Rangers came away with two runs. Shin-Soo Choo grounded into a double play that scored one run, and Prince Fielder put the Rangers ahead with a two-out run-scoring single.
Video: SD@TEX: Fielder singles the other way to score a run
Padres finally get big hit: Solarte's homer was the first piece of timely hitting the Padres have had in quite a while. San Diego had lost its previous six games by a combined nine runs and appeared headed for another close loss. The Padres came through with three singles in the ninth inning before Solarte's home run.
"I was excited for our guys," Murphy said. "You think about it, they've been on the road for a long time. It was nice to come up big. We had great at-bats in the last inning." More >
QUOTABLE
"I felt really good out there. I was able to locate my fastball and threw some decent changeups. My slider was off and on, but I was able to keep them off-balance, for the most part." -- Rangers starter Colby Lewis
Video: SD@TEX: Lewis works seven innings, strikes out five
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Moreland had his third two-homer game this season. This was the first one that they lost. He had been homerless in his last eight games since going deep twice on June 30 against the Orioles. He has three of the Rangers' six multi-homer games.
Video: SD@TEX: Moreland powers Rangers with pair of homers
The Longest Review
The Rangers had their longest review of the season in the first inning. The Padres had Solarte at third base and one out when Kemp hit a grounder to third baseman Adrian Beltre. Solarte broke for home, then tried to get back to the bag. Beltre went for the tag, and third-base umpire Manny Gonzalez ruled Solarte safe. The Rangers asked for a review, and it took four minutes and 16 seconds. When it was over, the safe call stood.
Video: SD@TEX: Solarte gets back into third, call stands
WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: The Padres will throw right-hander Tyson Ross (5-7, 3.56 ERA) on Sunday in Arlington at 12:05 p.m. PT in their first-half finale. Ross hasn't allowed a home run in a franchise-record 13 straight starts.
Rangers: The Rangers close out the first half by sending Yovani Gallardo to the mound at 2:05 p.m. CT Sunday against the Padres. Gallardo is 4-1 with a 1.26 ERA in his last nine starts. That stretch included a 33 1/3 consecutive-scoreless-innings streak.
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