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Wednesday, Apr. 12 10:05pm ET
More Sprague heroics boost Padres | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Ed Sprague did it again for the San Diego Padres, just with less drama. Sprague's pinch-hit, two-run bloop single in the seventh inning gave the Padres a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. Sprague's single, which landed between left fielder Luis Gonzalez and shortstop Tony Womack, was just the second hit of the three-run inning. On Tuesday night, Sprague hit a tying solo homer in the ninth inning, then homered again leading off the 13th to give the Padres a 3-2 win. An All-Star third baseman with Pittsburgh last year, Sprague was signed as a minor league free agent in the offseason to give the Padres insurance at first and third base. He's clearly adjusting to his different role. "You get in situations where sometimes you haven't had an at-bat in a couple of days and you end up trying to do too much," Sprague said. "If you've had some success lately, it makes things easier. You don't have to go up there trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark every time." Sprague batted for right-hander Brian Meadows (2-0), who was making his home debut. Trailing by one run, the Padres loaded the bases with none out in the seventh on Bret Boone's single, David Newhan's walk and Ben Davis' bunt. Boone beat pitcher Armando Reynoso's throw to third on the bunt. "I was unlucky," Reynoso said. "I got some ground balls, but we didn't get the outs we needed." Chris Gomez hit a bouncer to third baseman Lenny Harris, whose throw home was wide of catcher Kelly Stinnett for an error, allowing Boone to score. Newhan tried to score from second but was easily thrown out by Stinnett. "I had my mind made up I was going to throw home because their guy is pitching a hell of a game and we can't score any runs," Harris said. "By the time I got it, the ball was wet and it sailed on me." That brought up Sprague, who hit a breaking ball from Darren Holmes. "I waited a little too long and got jammed, but I was able to put enough on it to get it out to the outfield," Sprague said. Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his first save. Harris had tripled in Steve Finley with the go-ahead run with one out in the seventh. The teams had traded solo home runs up to that point. Arizona's Travis Lee homered into the seats in right-center leading off the second. Al Martin hit his first homer for the Padres, a 439-foot shot off the permanent wall in straightaway center field leading off the sixth. Until Martin's homer, the Padres had gotten just three infield singles off Reynoso (0-2), including a bunt and a broken-bat hit by Eric Owens. Meadows, acquired in an offseason trade with Florida, allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings. Reynoso gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits in 6 1/3 innings. Game notesThe Padres were still minus two starting outfielders. RF Tony Gwynn missed his second straight start after having his troublesome left knee drained after Monday's home opener and CF Ruben Rivera (ankle, wrist) missed his third straight start. ... Diamondbacks reliever Matt Mantei, on the disabled list with biceps tendinitis, threw well again on the side and will head to Triple-A Tucson for a rehab assignment. He's scheduled to pitch on Friday and Sunday. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Arizona Clubhouse San Diego Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 8 Texas 6
San Diego 4
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