The Yaz-Man Can! Grandal’s Bomb Propels Padres To Sweep

The Padres are playing their best ball of the season, and Yasmani Grandal has been a big reason for the Padres surge. Grandal slammed his 4th homer in five games — a two-run shot that gave the Padres the lead for good. San Diego beat Arizona 8-6 at Chase Field. The win was the Padres fifth in a row, and also gave the Padres the sweep in the desert.

Chase Headley got the Padres on the board early, stroking an RBI triple to right-center, driving in Chris Denorfia to give the Padres an early 1-0 lead. Denorfia had a huge game for the Padres, going 4-5, with a stolen base. He also scored three runs, and raised his average to .306.

Jason Marquis got the start for San Diego, and gave up a three-run homer to D’Backs slugger Jason Kubel that gave Arizona a 3-1 edge. Marquis pitched into the seventh, and he gave up four earned runs, before being pulled, in favor of Luke Gregerson.

With the score tied at 4, Grandal slammed a pitch into right field, for the two-run homer that put the Padres ahead for good. D’Backs right fielder Justin Upton almost made a great play on the ball, but it grazed off his glove. The Padres have not lost since Grandal joined the roster.

The Padres added two insurance runs in the ninth, one of the runs coming on an RBI double by Yonder Alonso. Alonso went 2-5 for the Padres.

Nick Vincent came in to pitch the ninth, but ran into some trouble, and gave up a pair of runs. Huston Street cleaned up the mess, and earned his 13th save of the year. The Padres will return home tomorrow to take on the Cincinnati Reds.

NOTES: The Padres placed Andrew Cashner on the 15-day disabled list with a muscle strain, and recalled RHP Brad Brach from AAA Tucson. Cashner left his start Friday after just 2 innings.