Padres 4, Cubs 2
CHICAGO -- Everth Cabrera singled home the go-ahead run as the San Diego Padres sent 10 men to the plate in the eighth inning on the way to a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
The Padres scored four runs after two were out in the inning and split the four-game series.
Left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher (2-0) worked one-third of an inning for the victory and Huston Street pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
Scott Hairston's two-run homer in the seventh broke a scoreless tie and provided Cubs starter Travis Wood a temporary 2-0 lead on a brisk afternoon. Hairston's homer -- his third of the season -- came off Padres starter Eric Stults and scored Welington Castillo.
Wood (2-2) allowed four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked just one.
Stults worked 6 2/3 innings before he was lifted for right-handed reliever Brad Brach, who faced one batter before leaving in favor of Thatcher. Stults allowed two earned runs and seven hits, struck out four and walked two.
Wood retired 14 straight Padres batters before Kyle Blanks singled up the middle with two out in the fifth.
The Cubs threatened in the bottom of the second with runners at second and third with one out and the bases loaded with two outs. But Chicago failed to score as Stults got Wood to pop out to short right field to end the inning.
Wood struggled in the eighth as the the Padres put runners on first and second with none out. Jedd Gyorko flied to left for the first out before Nick Hundley sent a sacrifice fly to right that moved Jesus Guzman to third. Guzman scored when Julio Borbon misjudged a fly ball, allowing Yonder Alonso to reach base.
Wood then departed in favor of Shawn Camp, whose first pitch was mishandled by Castillo for a passed ball that allowed Banks to score from third and tie it. Camp walked Chris Denorfia and was pulled in favor of ace left-hander James Russell.
Cabrera greeted Russell with a single that scored Alonso for a 3-2 Padres lead. Chris Headley then beat out an infield hit that brought Denorfia home for a 4-2 advantage.
San Diego had runners on second and third with one out against Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol. But Alonso lined to first for the second out and Marmol got pinch-hitter Will Venable to ground out to short.
Street, the Padres' fifth pitcher of the day, gave up a two-out double to pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz in the ninth.
The Cubs host Cincinnati on Friday in the opener of a three-game weekend series as Carlos Villanueva (1-1) meets Reds righty Mike Leake (1-1).
The Padres are home for three games with Arizona on Friday night. San Diego right-hander Jason Marquis (2-2) meets left-hander Wade Miley (2-0).
NOTES: Padres manager Bud Black flipped the top of his order, moving Denorfia into the leadoff spot and Cabrera down a spot to No. 2. ... San Diego recalled right-hander Brad Boxberger from Triple-A Tuscon and optioned left-hander Robbie Erlin. Boxberger was 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 relief appearances with Tuscon ... Gyorko, who led all major league rookies with 23 hits in APril, is hitting .324 in his last nine games with four runs, four doubles and three RBI. He also collected his first big-league homer on Wednesday. ... Hours after using seven left-handed batters in Wednesday's 6-2 victory, Cubs manager Dale Sveum went with a right-handed dominated lineup against Stults. First baseman Anthony Rizzo was the only lefty batter in the Cubs' starting lineup. ... The Cubs have made 22 errors, second most in the majors behind Washington (24). The 22 miscues have led to 14 unearned runs. ... The Cubs will give away a set of of 20 replica vintage Topps baseball cards on Friday featuring current and former Cubs players. They'll also pass out three more sets through the season for a total of 82 cards.
