Homers help Padres, Cashner top Yankees

SAN DIEGO -- Andrew Cashner didn't have his best stuff, but it was more than enough to beat the New York Yankees.

Logan Forsythe, Jedd Gyorko and Will Venable homered as the San Diego Padres rolled to a 7-2 rout of the Yankees before a sellout crowd of 44,124 on Friday night.

Cashner (8-5) had an effective outing, allowing two runs and seven hits in seven innings. Cashner struck out two and walked none to capture his third straight win and first over the Yankees (56-52), who were visiting Petco for the first time.

"I thought I pitched OK and I thought my defense played really well behind me tonight," said Cashner, who delivered his third straight quality performance and his 12th of the season. "They made some plays, got me out of some tough spots. But I think there's plenty of room for improvement."

Padres manager Bud Black said Cashner's changeup helped keep the Yankee hitters off-balance.

"The last three or four starts leading up to this one, the change wasn't too effective," Black said. "But I thought tonight the change was really good. He sort of found it again. That happens from time to time with pitchers.

"He still had great velocity, but from my vantage point, he didn't look like he was commanding the fastball like he normally does.

"I don't want to say he was effectively wild, but he had them dancing a little bit with the fastball. Again, I thought he was very effective (and) I thought we played very sound defense."

The Padres (51-59), who never trailed, jumped on C.C. Sabathia from the opening inning. Sabathia struggled with his command and allowed five runs and 11 hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Chris Denorfia's RBI single to right with two outs in the sixth chased Sabathia (9-10), giving the Padres a 5-2 lead.

"I'm not saying that I'm better than anybody else, but I feel like I need to be strong,'' said Sabathia, who lost his fourth consecutive decision. "We're battling, and I'm not helping us. I've expressed that. We've been through a lot this year. And me not being able to help is killing us."

Gyorko, who was in a 5-for-53 funk, added a solo shot estimated at 411 feet to center off Joba Chamberlain in the seventh. It was his first homer since June 7 (a span of 64 at-bats) and his first at Petco since May 22.

"It felt good," said Gyorko, who also made two defensive plays that prevented Yankees hits. "I've been struggling lately and I put together a couple of good swings earlier in the game and didn't get anything to show for it.

"It was a fastball out over the plate. He throws hard, so I just wanted to get my foot down early and try to put a good swing on it. It was able to get out of here."

Venable added his 13th home run, tying a career high and for the club lead with Carlos Quentin, with two outs in the eighth off reliever Adam Warren.

Everth Cabrera, who is expected to be suspended between now and Monday for his alleged involvement in the Biogenesis scandal, matched his career high with four hits, including an RBI triple.

The Padres outhit the Yankees 14-7.

Cabrera led off the game with a single and scored on a bases-loaded walk by Sabathia to Yonder Alonso. Gyorko's groundout brought home Chase Headley for 2-0 Padres lead.

The Yankees tied it in the second on an RBI double to right by Eduardo Nunez and a groundout by Sabathia, who entered the game with only two at-bats this season, that scored Nunez.

In the fourth, Logan Forsythe drove a 3-2 pitch from Sabathia that barely cleared the wall in left for a 3-2 Padres lead with one out. Cashner, who beat out an infield single, scored on Cabrera's triple to left center with two outs for a two-run cushion.

NOTES: Yankees OF Curtis Granderson was activated from the disabled list before the game, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Granderson had been out since May 24 after suffering a broken left pinkie knuckle from being hit by a pitch from Tampa Bay's Cesar Ramos. ... Yankees RHP Mariano Rivera was presented with five beach cruisers --one each for Rivera, his wife Clara and their three sons -- in a pregame ceremony to honor the retiring career saves leader. ... Padres RHP Ian Kennedy, who was acquired Wednesday in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, will face the Yankees, the club that drafted him, for the first time on Sunday.