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 "I didn't know what it was, but I didn't think it was serious,"
said the 23-year-old left-hander.
Four months later, Erlin thinks he is finally ready to move on from
what was originally diagnosed as elbow soreness.
"As we all know, when it's in the elbow it could be much worse and
I'm grateful it wasn't," Erlin said Thursday night as he held the
Philadelphia Phillies to one run on five hits with no walks and four
strikeouts over six innings in the Padres 7-3 victory at Petco Park.
Shortstop Alexi Amarista and right fielder Will Venable backed Erlin
with homers and multi-RBI games as the Padres scored their third win
in the finale of a four-game series against the Phillies. The Padres
are 19-7 at Petco Park since the All-Star break and 24-9 in their
last 33 home games.
Amarista drove in two runs with a homer and a sacrifice fly while
going 2-for-3. Amarista was 6-for-14 in the series with a double,
the two homers, five RBIs and three runs scored.
Venable hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Phillies left-handed
reliever Cesar Jimenez. The homer was Venable's first since Aug. 24
and his first at home since July 31.
"That was a solid six innings," Padres manager Bud Black said of
Erlin's first start since last May 17. "I thought this was more like
we saw in April and May. He had a nice three-pitch (fastball, curve
and change) mix and threw with conviction.
"Robbie keeps this spot in the rotation. He'll get another start."
Erlin got Thursday's start because the Padres decided earlier in the
week to push right-hander Tyson Ross back at least one day. That has
become four or five days and could be more."
Erlin evened his record at 4-4. Before Thursday night, Erlin had
made one, two-inning relief appearance on Sept. 7 since being
promoted from Triple-A El Paso on Sept. 2. His last minor league
start was Aug. 31. He had spent most of the summer rehabbing the
sore elbow.
Amarista gave the Padres a one-run lead twice in the game's first
four innings.
With one out in the second, the 5-foot-5, 150-pound Venezuelan hit
his fifth homer of the season -- as well as his second in three
games against the Phillies. And for the second time in three games,
Amarista's homer landed in the first row of seats.
Two innings later, Amarista hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.
In between, the Phillies temporarily tied the score at 1-1 on a
double by first baseman Darin Ruf and a two-out run-scoring single
by left fielder Dominic Brown.
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The Padres then added single runs in the fifth and sixth to extend
their lead to 4-1.
Second baseman Jedd Gyorko singled with two out in the fifth to
extend his hitting streak to a career-best nine straight games.
After catcher Yasmani Grandal drew a walk, left fielder Seth Smith
hit a run-scoring single to complete the night of Phillies
right-handed starter Kyle Kendrick (9-13).
Kendrick allowed three runs on six hits and five walks in five
innings.
"Five walks, there's no command there," said Kendrick. "I really
didn't have any command from the start. I had to battle. I was
pretty fortunate to get through with just three runs. It's pretty
tough for me to pitch without command. And I felt like I was behind
in the count a lot. It's tough for me to pitch like that."
Center fielder Cameron Maybin opened the Padres sixth with a double
against left-handed Phillies reliever Antonio Bastardo and scored on
a one-out single by rookie third baseman Cory Spangenberg.
NOTES: The iso/BLOX protective cap that Padres RHP Alex Torres has
worn since June went on display at the Hall of Fame as part of the
"This Year in Baseball" exhibit featuring highlights from the 2014
season. Torres is the only major league player wearing the cap. ...
Phillies OF Tony Gwynn Jr. said he has "been touched" by his
reception at Petco Park in his first games in San Diego since his
Hall of Fame father died in June. ... Padres manager Bud Black said
it is doubtful that SS Everth Cabrera will rejoin the team this
homestand. ... Starting Friday, the Padres will play seven of their
final 10 games against National League West contender San Francisco,
with the first three at Petco Park.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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