Padres power past Marlins

[July 25, 2015]  SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres flipped on Friday night, going from offensive flops to fireworks.

San Diego socked three home runs and Andrew Cashner pitched seven strong innings in a 3-1 victory over the Miami Marlins.

The Padres snapped a three-game losing streak as third baseman Brett Wallace, first baseman Yonder Alonso and right fielder Matt Kemp homered.

Alonso and Kemp went deep back-to-back in the fifth inning. Kemp also doubled in the third.

Cashner (4-10) allowed one run, five hits and one walk and hit a batter while striking out five. He had lost eight of his previous 10 decisions since April 24 but now has won two of his past four starts.

"I had good command of my fastball," Cashner said. "I made some mistakes in that first inning but I was able to settle down and just keep working my fastball."

Craig Kimbrel collected his 27th save in 28 chances after Joaquin Benoit worked the eighth.

Marlins starter Dan Haren (7-6) suffered his first loss since June 25 after giving up three runs and eight hits. He has won once in his last nine starts.

The offensive outburst was rare for the Padres, who were shut out by the Marlins for a league-high 14th time on Thursday night. During San Diego's three-game skid, it was outscored 20-4 and managed just 13 hits.

"When Wally hit his, we had that nice momentum," Alonso said. "When I hit mine and the next pitch Matt hit his, we just felt that momentum of energy that we stocked up just exploded. It was a different feeling today."

The Marlins, who had won three straight road games, have dropped seven of their last nine games at Petco.

They had runners in scoring position in three of the final four innings but were unable to slice into San Diego's lead. That included the tying runs being aboard in the ninth, but right fielder Ichiro Suzuki grounded out to second baseman Jedd Gyorko for the final out.

"We had a look at the game in the ninth inning," Marlins manager Dan Jennings said. "We battled and had some tremendous at-bats. But you hate to see wasted opportunities and we had too many of those tonight that we didn't capitalize on."

Alonso and Kemp homered on consecutive pitches in the fifth inning to give the Padres a 3-1 lead. It was Alonso's third home run of the year and Kemp's 11th.

"It was very frustrating," Haren said. "The Alonzo pitch I was OK with, it was a split, but it was not my best pitch. I threw him one and it was a bad one. The one I was most upset about was the one to Kemp. I just lost my focus there for a second and left one middle up, out over the plate. It's not like me to kind of lose it there so I am a little upset about that one."

Wallace's fourth-inning homer tied the score at 1. He redirected Haren's 82 mph fastball 431 feet over the right-field fence for his first homer with the Padres.

Kemp stroked a two-out double down the third-base line in the fourth. But left fielder Justin Upton, starting his first game since Sunday, struck out.

The Padres loaded the bases in the second. Singles by catcher Derek Norris and center fielder Melvin Upton Jr. preceded shortstop Clint Barmes getting hit by a pitch. But Cashner struck out to end the threat.

The Marlins nicked Cashner for a run in the first inning. Suzuki walked to open the game, stole second and scored on first baseman Justin Bour's double to right field.

But instead of unraveling, Cashner dug in.

"He's one of the biggest competitors in this clubhouse," Alonzo said. "It was good for him, it was good for the team."

It was good enough to beat the Marlins.

"He was effectively wild," Jennings said. "He's got a great arm, obviously, and he's on the attack all the time."

But he was almost lifted in the seventh, after center fielder Cole Gillespie's lead-off triple. Interim manager Pat Murphy went to the mound, but he didn't bring Cashner back with him.

"He looked me right in the eye and said, 'I got this. I'm telling you, I got this,"' Murphy said. "Sometimes as a competitor, you use that to help make your decision."

NOTES: Padres LF Justin Upton returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Sunday. Upton, who is in countless trade rumors, is battling a balky oblique. ... C Derek Norris, who doesn't have an RBI since June 28, was back in the lineup. ... INF Brett Wallace started at third base for the first time this season. ... Marlins C J.T. Realmuto was given the day off. ... Manager Dan Jennings said LHP Brad Hand will pitch in more short-stint situations after the trade of RHP Steve Cishek to the Cardinals.

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.