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 The 24-year-old backup catcher didn't stop there, though.
Bethancourt, playing in his 11th game of the season, also supplied
the game's lone run with a towering solo homer to left, giving the
Padres a 1-0 victory in a doubleheader nightcap at Wrigley Field and
a twin bill sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
"Bethancourt was unbelievable today behind the dish, the best I've
seen him block," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He called a great
game and obviously hit the ball out of the stadium. Not a bad day
for the kid."
Bethancourt said it was his first big league shutout behind the
plate.
"I've been close to it like in the ninth inning, (then) two outs and
then single, single," he said. "(Starter) Drew (Pomeranz) was
outstanding. He was so nice to catch and to work with, and I got a
couple of good at-bats, and that makes the day a whole lot better."
 Pomeranz (4-3) struck out 10 and allowed just three hits and three
walks in six shutout innings. He made the most of Bethancourt's
fifth-inning solo shot en route to his second consecutive win.
"Our bullpen did a great, great job today in both games, and that's
huge," Pomeranz said. "If I keep going five or six every time and
they come in and throw three or four scoreless, that's pretty
awesome."
Four Padres pitchers held the Cubs to four hits while collectively
striking out 14 and walking five.
San Diego (15-20) also handed the Cubs (25-8) back-to-back losses
for the first time this season. The Padres beat the Cubs 7-4 in
Wednesday's early game of the split doubleheader.
The last team to go at least 32 games into a season without losing
two in a row was the 1929 Philadelphia Athletics, who dropped their
51st and 52nd games after starting 39-11.
"We don't like it, but it's probably inevitable during the course of
a baseball season that you may lose two games in a row," Cubs
manager Joe Maddon said. "It's unfortunate it happened on the same
day, but I have nothing to lament."
Brad Hand, the third Padres pitcher of the night, worked out of a
bases-loaded jam with two outs in the eighth, getting an
inning-ending strikeout of Jorge Soler.
Closer Fernando Rodney then faced four batters in the ninth and got
Ben Zobrist on an infield grounder for the final out to collect his
10th save and second of the day.
Cubs starter John Lackey (4-2) was nearly as effective as Pomeranz
in an eight-inning outing before he was pulled for a pinch hitter.
Lackey allowed one run on three hits, struck out seven and walked
none. He threw 112 pitches, 81 for strikes.
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"It was a great game, Johnny was outstanding," Maddon said. "Their
pitchers were good, too. They played well and made the plays on
defense. Give them credit. They beat us two games and played well."
Wednesday's second game quickly settled into a pitchers' duel.
Pomeranz gave up two first-inning hits before Anthony Rizzo grounded
into a double play. After that, Pomeranz allowed just one more hit.
Lackey, meanwhile, retired 14 consecutive batters until he
Bethancourt homered with two outs in the fifth.
In Wednesday's first game, Brett Wallace clubbed a go-ahead,
three-run homer in the seventh inning in the Padres' 7-4 victory
over the Cubs.
Reliever Carlos Villanueva (1-0) worked one inning -- the sixth --
for the win, and Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save
of the season. Chicago reliever Pedro Strop (1-1) faced five batters
and gave up three earned runs in a rocky seventh to take the loss.
NOTES: Alex Dickerson on Tuesday became the first Padres player to
hit a pinch grand slam for his first career home run. ... San Diego
departs Chicago for the 90-mile trek to Milwaukee for Thursday's
opener of a four-game weekend series at Miller Park. RHP James
Shields (1-5, 3.60 ERA) goes against Brewers RHP Jimmy Nelson (4-2,
3.74). ... The Cubs and Padres meet again at Petco Park for a
three-game series from Aug. 22-24. ... Cubs C Miguel Montero, on the
15-day disabled list with lower back tightness, went 0-for-3 with
Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, his first appearance in a game since April
24. ... The Cubs have Thursday off before opening a three-game
weekend series against the Pirates. RHP Jason Hammel (4-0, 1.85)
faces LHP Francisco Liriano (3-1, 3.60) on Friday afternoon.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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