Who better than a pitcher with the nickname "Big Game James?"
The Padres, riding a three-game skid and losers of five of their
last six, finally took down the Philadelphia Phillies with a 9-4 win
behind seven dominant innings from right-hander James Shields.
"We're trying to win every game right now," Shields said. "We have
to win as many games as we possibly can. But to be able to shut them
down and not get swept is nice."
It also helped that after scoring just four runs over the first two
games of the series, San Diego broke out early and late behind 16
hits, including three home runs.
"I think the whole offense should feel pretty good about themselves
today," Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said. "If we want to win,
it's about our big guys coming up big. They did today and that
really set everything up."
San Diego (63-67), which came into the game 0-5 this season against
Philadelphia (52-79), got homers from right fielder Matt Kemp, left
fielder Justin Upton and third baseman Yangervis Solarte, while
Shields (10-6) knew just what to do with it, allowing one run and
striking out eight over his seven frames.
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He also chipped in at the plate with an RBI single.
"I'm not really worried about RBIs per se, I'm more worried about
scoring more runs while I'm pitching," Shields said. "I was glad I
was able to help myself out today."
The long balls by Kemp and Upton came early against right-hander
Alec Asher (0-1), who was making his major-league debut, and San
Diego never looked back by breaking it open late.
"Definitely had some nerves," Asher said. "Tried to calm down and
focus on pitching and winning the ballgame.
"I thought I was all right. I made a couple of bad pitches that I
paid for. But I mean, I wouldn't take back the experience. It was
great. You obviously want to win. But you take the experience and
learn from it."
Despite the loss, Philadelphia is 18-5-2 in 25 series against the
Padres since 2004.
"On the minus side, we lost the game. But on the positive side, we
won the series," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said.
"Asher, first appearance in the major leagues. I liked him. I liked
his stuff, I liked his approach. He got behind too often, he left
the ball up the in zone a little bit too often. So it's
understandable when a guy's got his first major-league appearance in
front of the home (fans)."
San Diego raced out of the chute Sunday when Kemp hit a bullet into
the left-field seats for a two-run homer in the top of the first
inning.
The Phillies got one back in the bottom of the second inning on an
opposite-field solo shot by catcher Cameron Rupp, but the Padres
snagged it right back the next inning when Upton skied a solo homer
of his own to left-center field.
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"Today the ball was flying out big time," Shields said. "We were
hitting pop flies that were going to the warning track and so were
they. It was a tough day today but it was nice to have a little lead
there at the beginning."
With runners on first and third and two outs in the top of the sixth
inning, Shields helped his cause with a bloop single up the middle
to make it 4-1 and knock Asher out of the game.
Asher, acquired in the July 31 trade that sent Cole Hamels to the
Texas Rangers, went 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs (all earned)
on eight hits while striking out three.
"What I learned is, don't miss your spots," Asher said. "They are
good and they are here for a reason."
Shields, who entered with the fifth-most strikeouts in the National
League, increased his season total to 184. With the victory, he's
now amassed double-digit wins in nine consecutive seasons.
San Diego tacked on in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings against
Philadelphia relief pitching to put the game out of reach.
"We can't just count on our hitters every night to score runs for
us," Shields said. "We've got to pitch and play defense."
NOTES: The Phillies claimed LHP Ken Roberts off waivers from the
Colorado Rockies and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. ...
Padres RHP James Shields hit eighth, ahead of OF Travis Jankowski.
... The Phillies open a six-game road trip Monday, with a three-game
series against the New York Mets. Philadelphia's probable starters
are RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-1, 2.25 ERA), RHP Aaron Harang (5-14, 4.79
ERA) and RHP Aaron Nola (5-1, 3.26 ERA). ... The Padres open an
11-game homestand Monday, with a three-game series against the Texas
Rangers. San Diego's probable starters are RHP Tyson Ross (9-9, 3.42
ERA), RHP Andrew Cashner (5-13, 4.06 ERA) and RHP Ian Kennedy (8-12,
3.94 ERA).
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