The Padres and Diamondbacks each hit three home runs on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. The difference is; Arizona hit theirs with more runners on base.
The D-Backs beat the Padres 6-4 to avoid getting swept over the weekend. All 10 runs were scored via the long ball.
Matt Kemp led off the game for the Padres with a dinger. Since moving the leadoff spot on Wednesday in San Francisco, Kemp is 7-20 (.350 average) with a pair of home runs. Padres catcher Derek Norris hit a pair of big flies, the second multi-homer game of his career. Norris smacked a 2-run shot in the 4th inning and a solo job in the 6th. All three of the Padres home runs came off Diamondbacks starter Chase Anderson, but the Friars only had two other hits in the game.
Norris continued his push to be on the National League All-Star team. Giants catcher Buster Posey leads in fan balloting but Norris has certainly caught the eye of San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy, who will have a hand in selecting the reserves.
Arizona’s long balls did a little more damage. Wellington Castillo hit a 3-run blast off Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne to put the Diamondbacks up 3-1. Despaigne also surrendered a solo shot to David Peralta.
In the 6th inning Padres manager Pat Murphy pulled Odrisamer to put in left-hander Frank Garces against the left-hand hitting Jake Lamb. Lamb ripped a 2-run blast to right field, giving Arizona the cushion they needed for the win.
The Padres have Monday off before playing two games against the Mariners at Petco. Then they hit the road for 10 games (four in St. Louis, three in Pittsburgh, three in Texas) leading in to the All-Star break.
