PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks
suffered through a heartbreaking loss the night before and learned
earlier in the day that they may have lost one of their starting
pitchers for the season.
A letdown would have been easy. In fact, their manager was a little concerned it might happen.
Instead, the Diamondbacks were loose, wrapping up another home series win behind Taijuan Walker's dominant performance and an early string of home runs.
Walker matched a career high with 11 strikeouts in eight effective innings, Chris Owings hit a pair of solo homers and the Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 Thursday night.
"I would lie to you if I told I wasn't concerned because some of the news we got today just seemed to pile up," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "But this group depends on one another and that's what we did here."
The Diamondbacks blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning to lose 8-5 to the Padres on Wednesday night. Before Thursday's game, they found out right-hander Shelby Miller may be done for the season with a partially torn elbow ligament.
Rather than pout, they jumped on Jered Weaver (0-2) with three homers and kept hitting. Yasmany Tomas had a two-run homer and lined a run-scoring double to help Arizona match its best ever home start at 11-3.
Walker (3-1) was sharp after a shaky first inning, allowing two runs and four hits. Picked to be mediocre heading into the season, the Diamondbacks now lead the NL West after opening a season with four straight home series wins for the third time.
"We know we can hit and pitch well," Walker said. "We rebounded from last night by scoring six runs and that just shows how much confidence we have in each other."
The Padres salvaged a win in the four-game series by scoring five runs in the ninth inning against Fernando Rodney on Wednesday night. They put up little fight against Walker, managing four hits to lose for the fifth time in six games.
Ryan Schmipf had a solo home run for the Padres after hitting the go-ahead three-run homer the night before.
"Walker was good today," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He lives at the very top of the zone and we didn't have an answer for that."
Walker had a bit of a rough first inning, allowing a run on Yangervis Solarte's single. The right-hander had the Padres off-balance the rest of the night, retiring 12 of 13 batters -- one was hit by a pitch -- before Schmipf's homer in the seventh.
"He gave us just what we needed," Lovullo said.
Weaver had pitched well since losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first start of the season, yet had three straight no-decisions entering Thursday's start despite allowing two earned runs in each.
One problem: Giving up home runs.
Weaver entered Thursday's game allowing 2.74 homers per nine innings, most in the NL.
The hot-hitting Diamondbacks added to that ratio.
Owing hit the first in the third inning. The right-handed Tomas hit his shot to right field in the fourth and Owings hit another homer later in the inning.
Tomas added a run-scoring double off Weaver in the sixth inning to put Arizona up 5-1.
Weaver allowed five runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out," Weaver said. "Obviously, the long ball has been killing me."
HEADY GOLDY
Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made a heady play to start an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
With Allen Cordoba on first, Weaver squared around for sacrifice bunt and sent the ball in the air toward Goldschmidt. Instead of catching the ball, he let it drop and ran over to tag first. Cordoba had to hold up to see if the ball was going to be caught and ended up getting tagged out in a rundown.
"It surprised me when he dropped it and it was a double play," Walker said. "It was a big moment in the game
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Miller has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, though may not opt to have Tommy John surgery. He is considering rehabilitating his elbow, possibly with stem cell injections.
UP NEXT
Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in three career appearances at AT&T Park heading into Friday's start at the San Francisco Giants.
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray is 2-1 with a 5.30 ERA and 39 strikeouts in seven career starts against Colorado heading into Friday's game against the Rockies.
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
San Diego Padres
A letdown would have been easy. In fact, their manager was a little concerned it might happen.
Instead, the Diamondbacks were loose, wrapping up another home series win behind Taijuan Walker's dominant performance and an early string of home runs.
Walker matched a career high with 11 strikeouts in eight effective innings, Chris Owings hit a pair of solo homers and the Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 6-2 Thursday night.
"I would lie to you if I told I wasn't concerned because some of the news we got today just seemed to pile up," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "But this group depends on one another and that's what we did here."
The Diamondbacks blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning to lose 8-5 to the Padres on Wednesday night. Before Thursday's game, they found out right-hander Shelby Miller may be done for the season with a partially torn elbow ligament.
Rather than pout, they jumped on Jered Weaver (0-2) with three homers and kept hitting. Yasmany Tomas had a two-run homer and lined a run-scoring double to help Arizona match its best ever home start at 11-3.
Walker (3-1) was sharp after a shaky first inning, allowing two runs and four hits. Picked to be mediocre heading into the season, the Diamondbacks now lead the NL West after opening a season with four straight home series wins for the third time.
"We know we can hit and pitch well," Walker said. "We rebounded from last night by scoring six runs and that just shows how much confidence we have in each other."
The Padres salvaged a win in the four-game series by scoring five runs in the ninth inning against Fernando Rodney on Wednesday night. They put up little fight against Walker, managing four hits to lose for the fifth time in six games.
Ryan Schmipf had a solo home run for the Padres after hitting the go-ahead three-run homer the night before.
"Walker was good today," Padres manager Andy Green said. "He lives at the very top of the zone and we didn't have an answer for that."
Walker had a bit of a rough first inning, allowing a run on Yangervis Solarte's single. The right-hander had the Padres off-balance the rest of the night, retiring 12 of 13 batters -- one was hit by a pitch -- before Schmipf's homer in the seventh.
"He gave us just what we needed," Lovullo said.
Weaver had pitched well since losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first start of the season, yet had three straight no-decisions entering Thursday's start despite allowing two earned runs in each.
One problem: Giving up home runs.
Weaver entered Thursday's game allowing 2.74 homers per nine innings, most in the NL.
The hot-hitting Diamondbacks added to that ratio.
Owing hit the first in the third inning. The right-handed Tomas hit his shot to right field in the fourth and Owings hit another homer later in the inning.
Tomas added a run-scoring double off Weaver in the sixth inning to put Arizona up 5-1.
Weaver allowed five runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out," Weaver said. "Obviously, the long ball has been killing me."
HEADY GOLDY
Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made a heady play to start an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
With Allen Cordoba on first, Weaver squared around for sacrifice bunt and sent the ball in the air toward Goldschmidt. Instead of catching the ball, he let it drop and ran over to tag first. Cordoba had to hold up to see if the ball was going to be caught and ended up getting tagged out in a rundown.
"It surprised me when he dropped it and it was a double play," Walker said. "It was a big moment in the game
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Miller has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, though may not opt to have Tommy John surgery. He is considering rehabilitating his elbow, possibly with stem cell injections.
UP NEXT
Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in three career appearances at AT&T Park heading into Friday's start at the San Francisco Giants.
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray is 2-1 with a 5.30 ERA and 39 strikeouts in seven career starts against Colorado heading into Friday's game against the Rockies.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| San Diego - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Margot grounded out to third. | 0 | 0 |
| Aybar struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Myers doubled to left. | 0 | 0 |
| Solarte singled to right, Myers scored. | 1 | 0 |
| Solarte stole second. | 1 | 0 |
| Renfroe struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jered Weaver pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Pollock lined out to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Peralta grounded out to pitcher. | 1 | 0 |
| Goldschmidt grounded out to third. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Schimpf struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Córdoba grounded out to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Torrens grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jered Weaver pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Lamb lined out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Tomás popped out to shortstop. | 1 | 0 |
| Herrmann flied out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Weaver struck out looking. | 1 | 0 |
| Margot grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Aybar doubled to deep left center. | 1 | 0 |
| Myers grounded out to third. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jered Weaver pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Owings homered to left (376 feet). | 1 | 1 |
| Ahmed grounded out to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Walker walked. | 1 | 1 |
| Pollock grounded into fielder's choice to second, Walker out at second. | 1 | 1 |
| Peralta struck out looking. | 1 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Solarte struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Renfroe struck out swinging. | 1 | 1 |
| Schimpf flied out to left. | 1 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jered Weaver pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Goldschmidt walked. | 1 | 1 |
| Goldschmidt stole second. | 1 | 1 |
| Lamb grounded out to second, Goldschmidt to third. | 1 | 1 |
| Tomás homered to center (384 feet), Goldschmidt scored. | 1 | 3 |
| Herrmann grounded out to third. | 1 | 3 |
| Owings homered to left (387 feet). | 1 | 4 |
| Ahmed flied out to right. | 1 | 4 |
| 3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Córdoba hit by pitch. | 1 | 4 |
| Torrens fouled out to right. | 1 | 4 |
| Weaver bunted into double play, first to second to shortstop, Córdoba out at second. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jered Weaver pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Walker grounded out to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Pollock singled to right center. | 1 | 4 |
| Pollock picked off first. | 1 | 4 |
| Peralta flied out to left. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Margot grounded out to third. | 1 | 4 |
| Aybar flied out to center. | 1 | 4 |
| Myers struck out swinging. | 1 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jered Weaver pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Goldschmidt singled to right. | 1 | 4 |
| Lamb grounded out to second, Goldschmidt to second. | 1 | 4 |
| Tomás doubled to deep center, Goldschmidt scored. | 1 | 5 |
| Herrmann flied out to right, Tomás to third. | 1 | 5 |
| Yates relieved Weaver. | 1 | 5 |
| Owings walked. | 1 | 5 |
| Owings stole second. | 1 | 5 |
| Ahmed flied out to left. | 1 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Solarte flied out to left. | 1 | 5 |
| Renfroe struck out looking. | 1 | 5 |
| Schimpf homered to right center (392 feet). | 2 | 5 |
| Córdoba grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Kirby Yates pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Walker grounded out to second. | 2 | 5 |
| Pollock flied out to center. | 2 | 5 |
| Peralta doubled to left. | 2 | 5 |
| Goldschmidt grounded out to third. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Taijuan Walker pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Spangenberg hit for Torrens. | 2 | 5 |
| Spangenberg struck out swinging. | 2 | 5 |
| Sánchez hit for Yates. | 2 | 5 |
| Sánchez struck out swinging. | 2 | 5 |
| Margot struck out swinging. | 2 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Miguel Diaz pitching for San Diego | SD | ARI |
| Díaz relieved Yates. | 2 | 5 |
| Córdoba in center field. | 2 | 5 |
| Spangenberg in left field. | 2 | 5 |
| Sánchez catching. | 2 | 5 |
| Lamb reached on infield single to shortstop. | 2 | 5 |
| Lamb to second on wild pitch by Díaz. | 2 | 5 |
| Tomás grounded out to second, Lamb to third. | 2 | 5 |
| Lamb scored on Díaz' wild pitch. | 2 | 6 |
| Herrmann struck out swinging. | 2 | 6 |
| Owings grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 6 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| San Diego - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| J.J. Hoover pitching for Arizona | SD | ARI |
| Hoover relieved Walker. | 2 | 6 |
| Aybar grounded out to third. | 2 | 6 |
| Myers grounded out to third. | 2 | 6 |
| Solarte grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 6 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
San Diego Padres
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Margot CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | .271 | .307 | .438 |
Díaz P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Aybar SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .203 | .291 | .348 |
| Myers 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | .316 | .333 | .582 |
| Solarte 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 | .295 | .357 | .432 |
| Renfroe RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | .239 | .255 | .435 |
| Schimpf 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .125 | .284 | .359 |
| Córdoba LF-CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .250 | .323 | .357 |
| Torrens C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .091 | .167 | .091 |
a-Spangenberg PH-LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .200 | .200 | .200 |
| Weaver P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Yates P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
b-Sánchez PH-C
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .077 | .143 | .077 |
| Totals | 30 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 116 | |||
| a-struck out swinging for L Torrens in the 8th b-struck out swinging for K Yates in the 8th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Myers (7, Walker); Aybar (4, Walker) HR: Schimpf (5, 7th inning off Walker 0 on, 2 Out) RBI: Solarte (16), Schimpf (10) 2-out RBI: Solarte, Schimpf GIDP: Weaver Padres RISP: 1-3 (Renfroe 0-1, Solarte 1-1, Myers 0-1) Team LOB: 2 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING SB: Solarte (2, 2nd base off Walker/Herrmann) | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ |
| Attendance | 15,452 (31.8% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 2:21 |
| Weather | 88 degrees, cloudy |
| Wind | 10 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Eric Cooper, First Base - Adrian Johnson, Second Base - Gary Cederstrom, Third Base - Tom Woodring |
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