Upton, Solarte Lead Padres Over Mets

Sure, Justin Upton and Matt Kemp did their part -- again. Padres manager Pat Murphy was excited to get contributions from the rest of the lineup, too.

Upton homered and drove in three runs and Yonder Alonso also connected as San Diego beat the New York Mets 7-3 on Wednesday night despite three long balls from Lucas Duda.

Kemp, Yangervis Solarte and Will Venable all drove in early runs as San Diego chased Bartolo Colon (9-10) after only 2 1-3 innings, his shortest start since 2012.

Solarte doubled twice and matched a career high with four hits as the Padres won for the seventh time in 11 games since the All-Star break.

"It makes it really helpful. You can't ask those guys -- and we have asked Kemp and Upton to provide all the wins for us lately -- it's great to see that those (other) guys are performing, Alonso and all those guys are coming through," Murphy said. "It's a good team win."

Duda hit the first of his home runs leading off the second to end Tyson Ross' streak of starts without allowing one at 16, a Padres record. Ross (7-8) hadn't given up a homer since April 28, a span of 100 innings.

Ross exited after just five innings, allowing just two hits, because his right quadriceps was tightening after he was struck by a comebacker in the fourth.

"Got me pretty good in the quad," Ross said. "I told him I could still go."

Duda also connected in the sixth off Kevin Quackenbush and in the ninth off Marcos Mateo. Duda has six homers in the last four games after going through an extended slump.

As rumors spread throughout Citi Field that the Mets had acquired outfielder Carlos Gomez from Milwaukee in a trade that would possibly include infielder Wilmer Flores, fans gave the rookie shortstop a standing ovation when he came to bat in the seventh inning. Then Flores wiped away tears when he warmed up at shortstop before the eighth.

It wasn't until after the game that Flores learned the truth.

"There is no trade," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. "Unfortunately social media, etc., got ahead of the facts and it may have had an adverse affect on one of the players rumored to be involved. It was an unfortunate situation."

The Mets had their three-game winning streak snapped. They fell two games behind Washington in the NL East.

Mentioned along with several teammates in numerous rumors ahead of Friday's non-waiver trade deadline, Upton had a sacrifice fly in the first inning after the first three Padres singled off Colon for a 2-0 lead. Venable and Solarte had RBI hits in the second, and Upton and Alonso led off the third with consecutive homers to make it 6-1.

Upton added a run-scoring single in the sixth.

"It's always good to get results but I can't predict the future," Upton said. "I can only come here tomorrow and work the same way I did today and previous days and try to get myself up to a better position."

SLOWING DOWN

After an age-defying start to the season, Colon has seriously cooled off. A week after his 42nd birthday on May 24, Colon beat the Phillies to improve to 8-3. He's only won once more, on June 12, and has lost six straight decisions. He yielded six runs and 10 hits on Wednesday.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: C Tim Federowicz (right knee surgery) is nearing the end of his rehab assignment, but Murphy said he didn't know what the plan was for the catcher because so much was up in the air with Friday's non-waiver trade deadline looming. Federowicz is out of minor league options.

Mets: Travis d'Arnaud went 1 for 4 and caught nine innings Tuesday night in a rehab start for Double-A Binghamton. He's 5 for 15 in four games with Binghamton. Manager Terry Collins expects d'Arnaud back this weekend for a series against Washington.

UP NEXT

Padres: RHP Andrew Cashner (4-10) is set to start while trade rumors swirl ahead of the trade deadline. He has gone at least seven innings in three of his last four outings.

Mets: LHP Jonathon Niese left his start Friday after just three innings to fly home to be with his wife after the birth of his son. Niese gave up six runs and watched the delivery on FaceTime. His 2.04 ERA in five starts against the Padres is his best against any opponent.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us