The Padre Post

The Padres late inning games of late have resulted in losses, but that changed in the first game of a series against the Reds. The Padres entered the top of the ninth down by a run, but threw three on the board to go up 6-4 and Trevor Hoffman avoided a rally by the Reds in the bottom of the inning to hold on for the win.

With the game tied, Brian Giles grounded out which tied the game. Kevin Kouzmanhoff came up two batters later and lined a double into the gap that scored the eventual winning run. Kouzmanhoff had two hits in the game and drove in three.

Scott Hairston homered for the second straight game and had two hits. Edgar Gonzalez had three hits in four trips.

Ken Griffey Jr. homered for the Reds, a two run shot.

Padres starter Josh Banks allowed four runs in 5.2 innings. Clay Hensley picked up the win.

Cha Seung Baek did all he could to contribute, with a solid outing and a home run to support himself. He went for 6.1 innings on the mound and allowed just one earned run on six hits. He hit a two run homer in the fifth, his first career homer.

Nevertheless, the Cardinals took the game and swept the Padres right after the All Star Break. Scott Hairston had three hits including a homer in the game, and Edgar Gonzalez threw in two hits of his own.

The game was tied 5-5 in the ninth inning, but the bases were loaded up by the Cardinals then Aaron Miles swiftly unloaded them with one swing of the bat to send the Cardinals home walk off winners.

Troy Glaus hit a two out three run homer in the eighth, part of eight runs allowed in the final three innings of the game by the Padres.

The Padres bats jumped out early, with five runs in the first two innings. That proved to not be enough on the night, as the St. Louis Cardinals jumped back with six runs total in the fifth and sixth innings to win 6-5.

Starters Randy Wolf and Todd Wellemeyer were ineffective in their outings, both giving up all of the other teams runs.

Edgar Gonzalez had a big three run homer with two outs in the second that at the time put the Padres up 5-0. Gonzalez had two hits and two runs in the game.

Albert Pujols had  a 3-4 game with four RBI’s in the game. Rick Ankiel had the RBI that proved to be the difference when he drove in Pujols after he had hit a three run double in the sixth.

The Padres could not finish off the first half with a win against the Braves in a 12-3 loss to wrap up the series and half. The Braves pounded out 16 hits and the Padres managed just eight in the game.

Kevin Kouzmanhoff had a great game for the Padres with three hits including a homer. Randy Wolf struggled on the day giving up six hits and six runs in just five innings.

Jorge Campillo, a great first half story for the Braves, gave up just two runs off five hits in six innings. He picked up the win to improve to 4-4 for the first half.

Brian McCann, the Braves All Star catcher, had his second three hit game of the series. He hit his 18th homer of the year in the game. He had three runs and three RBI’s as well. Brent Lillibridge, a day after hitting his first big league homer, showed a burst in confidence and had three hits. He also drove in two runs.

The Padres could get nothing going against the Braves pitchers in the second game of the series and lost 4-1. Greg Maddux gave up just three runs in seven innings, but took the loss anyway dropping to 3-8 despite a 3.90 ERA.

The NL’s leading hitter, Chipper Jones, had three of the Braves eight hits raising his average to .378. Brent Lillibridge hit his first career MLB homer in the ninth inning to highlight his day. Recently recalled Jeff Francouer had two hits and drove in two runs.

Charlie Morton had a great start, leaving the Padres with just four hits in 5.1 innings of one run ball. The Braves three relief pitchers allowed no hits to the Padres.

No Padre had a multiple hit game.

The two teams will wrap up their first halves with the series finale and try to win the series as well tomorrow.

Jake Peavy looked like no one could possibly hit him in a 4-0 victory over the Braves in the series opener. He walked only one and allowed just four hits in seven very impressive innings. He also struck out seven batters in the effort.

He received support from all of the top three hitters in the Padres lineup, each of them had two hits. Scott Hairston had a double and a triple, while both Gonzalez brothers had two hits and drove in a run.

Brian McCann had three of the Braves eight hits. Jojo Reyes took the loss for the Braves, giving up two runs on five hits in four innings.

Trevor Hoffman picked up the save, his seventeenth.

The first two games of the Padres-Diamondbacks series had been a disaster for all concerned on the Diamondbacks side. The pitchers had been great, but the runs were not coming and the Padres won both of the games.

The third game looked headed in the same direction, when Randy Johnson gave up a homer to Scott Hairston leading off the game. It was Hairston’s third homer in two games. Johnson however settled down and did not allow another run over the next 6.1 innings.

Justin Upton made fans jaws drop with the second longest homer in the history of Chase Field. The ball landed in the third row of seating in the outer deck of TGI Friday’s. The blast traveled an estimated 484 feet. It was his 11th of the year.

Padres starter Jared Banks allowed three runs off seven hits in six innings and took the loss. Johnson allowed only three hits and one run, the homer, and struck out 10 Padres batters.

Mark Reynolds blasted his 18th homer of the year later in the game for the Diamondbacks. Brandon Lyon also picked up his 18th save.

Kevin Kouzmanhoff had two hits for the Padres.

The Diamondbacks might be getting a little taste of the frustrations of the Padres season with their lack of run scoring lately. The story of the Padres season thus far has been the lack of ability to score runs. That came to be again for the Diamondbacks for the second straight night. Doug Davis was left with no support from his offense and the Padres, fueled by Scott Hairston, took the second game of the series 4-2.

Davis went eight strong innings allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out seven. Hairston was the lone speed bump in the game. He went deep twice, once in the third with a runner on and again with a solo shot in the sixth. He had three hits in the game.

Jake Peavy was on the other side unfortunately, and he threw seven shutout innings blanking the Diamondbacks on just three hits. He walked two and struck out six.

The Diamondbacks did not get on the board until the eighth with one and put up one more in the ninth but fell short. Stephen Drew hit a solo homer in the ninth. Orlando Hudson had two hits, both doubles, and drove in the other run.

The Diamondbacks just cannot find the winning formula on a consistent basis. The pitching and hitting has not yet come at the same time and for a team that was the best in the bigs for the early part of the year, the season has started to become a lot more shaky. Dan Haren threw all he had, and gave up just two runs in seven innings. Sadly, the Diamondbacks offense managed just one run in the game. The loss was taken by a score of 5-1.

The Padres starter Cha Seung Baek gave up just two hits over six innings and struck out seven. The Diamondbacks had just five hits in the game of Padres pitching.

The run support came from the middle of the order, with an RBI coming one apiece from the 2-5 hitters. Jody Gerut and Kevin Kouzmanhoff led the way with two hits each.

Haren sturck out seven in seven innings and allowed the same number of hits. Sadly, triple sevens were not that lucky for Haren. He likely cemented himself in as an NL All-Star with the outing.

Chad Tracy drove in the lone Diamondbacks run with an RBI single in the seventh.

Aaron Cook has been dominant this year, but Tuesday night was a whole new level. He threw just 79 pitches in a complete game shutout of the Padres. He allowed just five hits in a game that lasted just an hour and 58 minutes, the shortest in Coors Field history. The Rockies won the game 4-0.

Cook improved to 11-5 on the year with the win. He struck out four in the game.

Jared Banks had a mediocre outing to say it lightly. He hit a rough patch in the bottom of the fifth and allowed four runs in the frame, all that he would allow in the game. He gave up six hits, four runs and struck out four with three walks.

Matt Holliday was the only player in the game with two hits. Willy Tavares, Brad Hawpe, and Garrett Atkins each drove in one run.