Padres Pound Astros, Win 8-4
The Padres offense is scoring runs at Petco Park. Could it be that the team has finally mastered the art of hitting at home, or are the Astros just that bad? Well, it could be a combination of both, but the Padres have scored 16 runs in the last two games, both decisive wins against the lowly Astros.
The game did not start off with a bang, however. Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez was perfect for the first three innings. Clayton Richard kept the Astros off of the board for the first three innings as well. Those three innings were played in 29 minutes.
The Padres broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring five runs. Alexi Amarista scored on a wild pitch for the first run. Chris Denorfia singled to left, to score two more runs. Yonder Alonso stroked a double deep to left, to score two more runs. Alonso had his seventh multi-double game of the year. That is a new Padres record, breaking the mark set by Adrian Gonzalez and Tony Gwynn. Impressive company indeed.
Richard turned in another solid outing for San Diego, coming within two outs of his first complete game of the year. Richard went 8.1 innings, and allowed four earned runs. All of the runs Richard allowed came courtesy of Astros first baseman Matt Downs, who had two homers and four RBI’s. Richard leads the National League in innings pitched, with 135.2.
Huston Street got the final out for the Padres, to preserve the win. Street picked up his 16th save, and lowered his ERA to 1.07.
Notable: Yonder Alonso, 2-4, 2 doubles, 3 RBI’s. Chase Headley 2-4.