Padres 13, Nationals 4
SAN DIEGO - Will Venable, Kyle Blanks and Yonder Alonso homered and drove in two runs apiece as the San Diego Padres hammered the Washington Nationals 13-4 before an announced crowd of 27,080 at Petco Park on Sunday.
Andrew Cashner (3-2) got the victory, allowing three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 2/3 innings. It helped the Padres (20-23) claim their 11th win in their last 14 games at Petco and earn a split in the four-game series with Washington. They banged out 15 hits to 10 for the Nationals.
Dan Haren (4-5) had a rough outing, giving up seven runs on nine hits. Two of those nine were homers to Venable and Blanks.
The Padres jumped on Haren early, scoring three runs in the first. Carlos Quentin, in his first game back from paternity leave, doubled to left to score Everth Cabrera, Alonso lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right to drive in Chase Headley, and Jedd Gyorko's RBI double to left scored Quentin with two outs.
After Steve Lombardozzi lined an infield single off the glove of Cashner, Ryan Zimmerman homered on a 3-1 pitch from Cashner into the upper deck in left to cut the Padres' lead to 3-2 with no outs in the fourth.
But the Padres answered with four runs in the fifth off Haren. Venable led off the inning with a solo shot to right. Three batters later, Gyorko singled home Alonso with two outs.
Blanks followed by drilling Haren's first pitch into the second deck of the Western Metal Supply building in left for a two-run blast and a 7-2 advantage.
The Nationals (23-21) scored two runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche, but that would be the closest they would get.
San Diego tacked on five runs in the bottom of the inning to blow the game open.
Alonso delivered a solo home run to right in the eighth. He and Venable lead the Padres with six apiece.
Cabrera, who drove in the game-winning run in Saturday's win, went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. He also stole three bases.
NOTES: Ooutfielder Bryce Harper did not play for the second consecutive game because of a sore knee. Harper has been ailing since Monday when he crashed into the wall at Dodger Stadium. He played the first two games of the four-game set in San Diego but said at the start of it that the entire left side of his body was hurting. ... SS Ian Desmond got the day off after starting all 43 of the previous games. Desmond is mired in an 0-for-17 slump. Danny Espinosa started at short ... LHP reliever Zach Duke will start in place of injured RHP Ross Detwiler in Monday's game at San Francisco. Detwiler is suffering back problems, though the club hasn't placed him on the disabled list. ... Toronto claimed RHP Thad Weber, who the Padres had designated for assignment Friday.
