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Friday, May 12 10:05pm ET
Diamonbacks stretch win streak to eight | |||||
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SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Without their All-Star third baseman and their closer, the Arizona Diamondbacks have won a franchise-record eight straight games. "We've got a lot of other good players," said left-hander Brian Anderson, who along with fellow Padres-killer Steve Finley led the Diamondbacks to a 6-4 win over San Diego on Friday night. Anderson was referring to the fact that the Diamondbacks have been missing third baseman Matt Williams all year with a broken right foot, and have seen closer Matt Mantei go back on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. "It just seems like every night that someone else is stepping up, having a big night, and when you don't have to rely on just two or three guys, that just makes you a very dangerous team," Anderson said. The streak has carried the Diamondbacks to a 25-10 record, the best in baseball. Arizona beat San Diego for the fifth straight time, including four during the streak. Arizona outscored the Padres 23-9 in sweeping a series last weekend in Phoenix. The Padres, coming off just the third 0-6 road trip in their 32-year history, lost their seventh straight and 13th in 16 games. Anderson (3-0) continued two streaks by holding the Padres to one run and six hits in seven innings. He won his ninth straight decision dating to July 24, and his last four wins have all come against the Padres, dating to the last day of the 1999 season. Finley, an ex-Padre, has four homers and 11 RBIs in eight games against San Diego this year. "We've faced these guys so much already early in the season that it's kind of blown out of proportion," Finley said. Finley hit his 13th homer to right-center field off Matt Clement (4-2) with two outs in the fourth, giving the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead. The homer came after first baseman Ed Sprague booted Erubiel Durazo's routine grounder for his second error of the game, making both runs unearned. Finley was more impressed with Arizona's pitchers. "Our pitching's been fantastic," he said. `We've been swinging the bats good when we have to." Finley is 25-for-80 (.313) with six homers and 17 homers against the Padres since he signed with Arizona as part of San Diego's post-World Series exodus in 1998. "We've definitely given Finley good balls to hit since we've been facing him," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. Finley homered on a fastball that came back over the plate. "That home run right there is magnified about 10 times more than it would be at any other time of the season," Clement said. Carlos Hernandez's bases-loaded infield single pulled the Padres to 2-1 in the fifth, but the Diamondbacks pulled away on Durazo's RBI single with two outs in the sixth and Tony Womack's two-run single in the seventh. Damian Miller hit an RBI double in the ninth. Sprague hit a three-run homer off Greg Swindell in the ninth to make it 6-4. Sprague has seven homers this season -- six against Arizona. "You have to play good ball when it's close and we're not doing it," Bochy said. Byung-Hyun Kim got two outs for his third save. Padres center fielder Ruben Rivera made a spectacular play to throw out Jay Bell at the plate in the first inning. Backing up right fielder Eric Owens, Rivera fielded Luis Gonzalez's double when it caromed off the auxiliary scoreboard and made a one-hop throw to catcher Hernandez. Clement lost his second straight start after having won eight straight decisions dating to Sept. 5. He allowed three hits and three runs, one earned, in six innings. Game notesThe Padres don't have to face Randy Johnson during this three-game series. A week ago, Johnson struck out 11 and threw a five-hitter in a 5-3 victory. ... Before the game, the Padres made six roster moves, including purchasing the contract of RHP Stan Spencer from Triple-A Las Vegas. Spencer is scheduled to start Saturday against Todd Stottlemyre. The Padres also recalled Brandon Kolb and purchased the contract of Matt Whiteside. Starter Rodrigo Lopez was optioned and reliever Vicente Palacios was outrighted, both to Vegas. Reliever Rodney Myers was placed on the 60-day DL and will undergo surgery Saturday to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. ... Kolb started the ninth, making his major league debut. ... Diamondbacks closer Matt Mantei, on the DL with a sore right shoulder, threw a simulated game of 25 pitches, facing six batters, and reported no ill effects. He's scheduled to throw another simulated game on Sunday. He's eligible to be activated on May 20. ... The Padres will finish their 13-game season series with Arizona before they face any other NL West team even once. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Arizona Clubhouse San Diego Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 9 Baltimore 0
Arizona 6
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