The Padres finally have a .300 hitter in their starting lineup. Adrian Gonzalez has been hotter than the sun lately, hitting .615 for the month of June and .442 in his last 10 games.
After two straight games with homers, and four RBI’s in last night’s game, he followed it up with a 3-5 game. He drove in one, keeping himself in first place in the NL for runs batted in with 55 on the year. His year average stands at .304.
The Cubs had three homers among 11 hits. Geovany Soto, the leading vote getter for NL All Star Catcher, hit his tenth. Alfonso Soriano hit his 14th of the year, a three run shot in the eight inning that proved to be the difference. The Padres fought back with three of their own in the bottom of the eighth to pull the game within three.
Reed Johnson and Soriano each had two hits and scored two runs. Mark DeRosa also homered in the game, driving in two.
Jason Marquis picked up his third win of the year while Bryan Corey took the loss, his first.
The Cubs stole six bases in the game, four with Wil Ledezma on the mound. Teams have been starting to exploit the slow lefthanded motion that Ledezma has to the plate and steal bases against him.