Padres End 4-game Skid With Offensive Explosion
May 23, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso (23) celebrates with right fielder Will Venable (R) after scoring during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
What a night to be a Padres fan! The bats came alive for the most runs all season, and the four-game losing streak is a distant memory.
The Padres defeated the Chicago Cubs 11-1 in the second game of a four-game series with Rick Renteria’s club.
The offensive explosion started in the first inning. Seth Smith hit a two-run RBI single, and Yonder Alonso hit a two-run home run to right to give the Friars a quick 4-0 lead. The bats stayed hot in the second inning with a Yasmani Grandal home run, and a Chase Headley two-run double. The Padres could have stopped there, but they kept scoring.
At the end of four innings, the Padres scored eight runs and bumped Cubs’ starter Edwin Jackson from the game.
In the seventh, the Padres added three more runs to get to 11.
The team also flashed some leather. Everth Cabrera dove to his left on a grounder in the second inning, and flipped the ball to Jedd Gyorko at second for a force play on Nate Schierholtz. Yonder Alonso made a great pick on a grounder to his right to end the fifth inning.
Tim Stauffer pitched five innings of no-run, two-hit ball in his first start in two years. Stauffer looked cool and composed on the mound, and the Padres’ bullpen finished off the gem with four innings of one-run ball.