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 San Diego slugged three, two-run homers and St. Louis committed
three errors as the Padres beat the Cardinals 9-3 on Friday night.
The Padres won four straight and six of seven. It was the team's
500th victory in Petco Park, which opened in 2004.
Andrew Cashner (5-12) worked six innings and allowed an unearned run
on four hits with two walks. He struck out eight in winning for the
first time in five starts.
"I thought I did a good job locating my fastball tonight," Cashner
said. "I've been working on a different grip on my slider for about
two weeks now and it finally came together tonight."
John Lackey (10-8) pitched six innings and gave up five runs (four
earned) on nine hits, with a walk and seven strike outs.
The Padres sent nine batters to the plate in their five-run fifth as
the Cardinals committed three errors and a wild pitch.
That made for a frustrated Lackey.
"There's a lot of things I want to say," Lackey said.
Asked to describe the defensive debacle, he declined.
"Nope, you watched it," Lackey said.
Third baseman Yangervis Solarte also contributed a two-run homer,
his third in three games.
St. Louis scored twice in the seventh to pull within 5-3. Center
fielder Tommy Pham had an RBI triple and left fielder Stephen
Piscotty added a sacrifice fly.
The Cardinals had the tying runs aboard in the eighth but Joaquin
Benoit struck out pinch-hitter Peter Bourjos to end the threat.
Pinch-hitter Brett Wallace had a 431-foot, two-run homer in the
eighth. Matt Kemp, who has a season-best 13-game hitting streak,
added another two-run homer for the final margin.
The Padres scored five times in the fifth as the Cardinals got
sloppy.
"We had done a nice job of not having multiple mistakes in a game
defensively and when you do see it, it stands out," Cardinals
manager Mike Methany said.
St. Louis gift-wrapped the Padres' first two runs. Shortstop Alexi
Amarista singled, and Cashner bunted to first base. Mark Reynolds
fielded the ball and threw wildly to second base. It was retrieved
by Piscotty, and his throw landed in the St. Louis dugout. That
allowed Amarista to score and sent Cashner to third.
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"You need to commit one way or the other," Cardinals manager Mike
Matheny said. "It was almost like (Reynolds) committed to the bag
and made the throw and then it's a tougher throw. You take the angle
where you are having to throw over the runner. The play is probably
going to second with the pitcher running, even though he runs well.
But I think (Reynolds) registered with that after the fact."
Center field Travis Jankowski then singled for his first major
league RBI, giving him two hits in his first two major league plate
appearances. Solarte followed with a two-run homer.
"It was a great experience and something I'll never forget," he
said. "I had some butterflies. But, honestly, if not for the guys in
the clubhouse, I would have been more nervous."
First baseman Yonder Alonso singled, advanced on a wild pitch and
scored on left fielder Justin Upton's single to make it 5-1.
The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with some help.
Piscotty reached on a one-out error by Amarista, then went to second
on shortstop Jhonny Peralta's infield hit. Piscotty scored on
catcher Yadier Molina's single to right field.
The Cardinals had Cashner's pitch count up early, but didn't make
him pay.
"He would get into those 3-2 counts and make a pitch and wouldn't
give us a whole lot to work with," Methany said. "I was hoping to
get him enough to run him out of there, but unfortunately he took
the lead before we did."
NOTES: CF Travis Jankowski made his debut after being called up
Wednesday from Triple-A El Paso. He batted eighth. ...
Left-hand-hitting INF Alexi Amarista got the start at shortstop. INF
Jedd Gyorko remains in the mix at that spot, although he was at
second. ... San Diego RHP Brandon Morrow's season-ending shoulder
surgery Wednesday was successful. ... Cardinals RF Jason Heyward was
a late addition to the lineup after proving his hamstring was fit
before batting practice. ... St. Louis INF Mark Reynolds got the
start over Brandon Moss at first base.
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