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 After the game, a steady rain fell in San Diego.
Both are seldom seen when the Padres are playing at home.
Rea stifled the New York Mets, 5-3, on Thursday night.
In his 12th major league start, Rea (3-1) kept the Mets hitless
through 6 2/3 innings.
Yoenis Cespedes stroked a hard single through the infield's right
side for the Mets' first hit. Second baseman Jemile Weeks was
shifted on the bag's other side and wasn't close to making a play.
"Someone should have just told me not to shift on Cespedes that
time," Padres manager Andy Green quipped.
Cespedes said he was aware of Rea's gem.
"The job was just try to go to home plate as a team and get the job
done to get a hit," he said.
The string of 7,519 Padres games without a no-hitter continued. But
it didn't diminish Rea's stunning performance against one top
hitting teams in the major leagues. The right-hander allowed a run,
three hits and a walk, with five strike outs, over eight-plus
innings.
 "I was being more aggressive in the zone, using more of the plate
and not being so tentative early in the count," said Rea, who threw
a fastball, curve and cutter. "Then we were able to expand after
that."
Rea, who had pinpoint control, allowed a one-out walk to David
Wright in the first and then retired 19 in a row.
"It was definitely in my head and I knew the situation that was
going on," Rea said. "It was fun out there and it was good to get a
win."
He had a pair of close calls as he flirted with baseball immortality
against Curtis Granderson.
Center fielder Jon Jay made a sliding catch of Granderson's line
drive in left center in the third.
In sixth, Granderson smoked a grounder up the middle which was
flagged down by shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who was shifted toward the
first base side of second. The Padres estimated eight balls were hit
into shifts.
"The shift came into play multiple times before that," Rea said. "It
saved more hits than we gave up."
Granderson chased Rea with a home run to open the ninth. Cespedes
then hit a two-run homer off reliever Brad Hand.
Fernando Rodney quickly recorded the final two outs for his seventh
save.
Jacob deGrom (3-1) saw his four-game winning streak, dating to last
year, snapped as he was pulled after five innings. deGrom, who was
7-0 over his last 10 road starts, surrendered three runs on eight
hits and a walk.
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"Locating the offspeed," deGrom replied, when asked what he
struggled with. "They got some guys with two strikes and I just
couldn't put them away. I was leaving the offspeed in the middle."
Derek Norris greeted reliever Logan Verrett with his second homer of
the year in the sixth, pushing the Padres lead to 4-0. For Norris,
who entered the game hitting .138, it was his third hit and put him
a triple shy of the cycle.
"It was a great day for him," Green said. "He called a great game
behind the dish and you knew he was going to bust out at some point
and time. All those balls were hit hard."
Then Weeks scored on Jay's double and a throwing error by Michael
Conforto.
The Padres scored in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0
lead.
With one out in the first, Wil Myers redirected an 88 mph deGrom
slider over the left field fence for his sixth homer on the year.
That is only two fewer homers than Myers had all of last season.
Norris opened the second with a double to right, and he scored on
Rea's base hit to center, the pitcher's first career RBI.
In the third, Brett Wallace reached on a walk and scored on
Ramirez's two-out parachute double down the left field line. Some
shoddy baserunning by Melvin Upton Jr., who overran third base and
was erased, derailed a potential rally.
NOTES: Padres INFs Alexi Amarista (hamstring) and Yangervis Solarte
(hamstring) continue to make progress and could soon be headed for
rehab assignments. ... San Diego RHP Tyson Ross, out since his
Opening Day start due to right shoulder inflammation, hasn't resume
playing catch. .. Ted Williams and Ken Caminiti will be inducted
posthumously into the Padres' Hall of Fame this summer. ... Mets LHP
Josh Edgin (Tommy John surgery in March 2015) has yet to regain his
velocity despite posting a 1.43 ERA through eight minor league rehab
outings. There is no timetable for his return. ... Mets manager
Terry Collins will return to Petco Park as the NL skipper for the
All-Star Game on July 12.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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