Padres Offense Has Moment of Catharsis

Frustrating week washed away with big game in Los Angeles

Since beating the Nationals 8-3 at Petco Park back on May 14, the Padres had not played very well. They lost seven of their next eight games, scoring a total of 13 runs while being shut out three times.

Frustration bubbled over on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The Padres got a grand slam in the first inning from Justin Upton and never stopped swinging in an 11-3 win over the Dodgers.

Upton's slam was the fourth of his career. Interestingly, three of them have come against L.A. Justin also had a 2-run double in the second inning, giving him 6 runs batted in for the day and pumping his season RBI total up to 35 (4th-best in the National League).

Dodgers starting pitcher Carlos Frias had a miserable day. After surrendering Upton's slam, Frias allowed four more runs in the second inning on Upton's double and a 2-RBI single by Derek Norris.

In the 3rd inning Frias was touched up for a solo home run by Will Middlebrooks. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly brought his pitcher's day to a merciful end in the 5th inning. The final line for Frias: 4.0 IP, 12 hits, 10 earned runs, no strikeouts.

The Padres didn't need a fantastic start from James Shields, but they got one anyway. Shields threw six scoreless innings but gave up three runs in the seventh. Shields walked away with his sixth win of the year (against no losses) and even had a single at the plate.

In fact, every Padres starter had a hit. Will Venable had four of them. The Padres tied their season-high with 20 hits in the game. Now, what San Diego fans would like to see is that carry over to the 3-game series with the Angels that starts Monday in Anaheim.

Instead of scoring 11 one day then one or two the rest of the week, breaking it up and getting four or five every night would be a good way to go.

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