Padres 5, Diamondbacks 1
PHOENIX -- Will Venable doubled, homered and drove in three runs and Robbie Erlin pitched six strong innings for his second major league victory as the San Diego Padres avoided a three-game sweep with a 5-1 victory at the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
Venable doubled in a run in the first inning and hit a two-run homer in the eighth, his 20th homer of the season. He has 39 hits in August, tied with Arizona's Martin Prado for the major league high.
Jesus Guzman had two singles and his eighth homer of the season in the eighth inning, when the Padres broke open a 2-1 game with two homers and three runs off former teammate Heath Bell.
Left-hander Erlin (2-2) gave up one run and six hits in six innings, striking out two and walking two. He entered the game with a 7.15 ERA in his first six major league appearances, four starts.
Willie Bloomquist had three singles and an RBI for Arizona in his first game since being activated from the disabled list, and Aaron Hill had two hits.
D-backs starter Wade Miley (9-9) gave up two runs and four hits in the first inning but allowed only two hits the rest of the way, one in his final five innings. He struck out five and walked one in seven innings.
Chris Denorfia singled to left field and scored on Venable's double to center as the Padres took a 1-0 lead two batters into the game. A few batters later, Jesus Guzman's two-out single made it 2-0.
Arizona put runners on first and second base with two outs in the third and fourth innings, but Erlin got out of the third with a routine groundout and the fourth with a routine fly ball.
Erlin was starting in the rotation spot vacated when the Padres designated right-hander Edinson Volquez for assignment last week. It was his first major league appearance since July 7.
Denorfia also had two hits for San Diego (60-73), which has won four of its last seven games.
National League RBI leader Paul Goldschmidt was given the day off after playing 47 straight for Arizona (68-64), which has lost five of its last eight.
NOTES: San Diego LF Carlos Quentin will be shut down for the rest of the season, the Padres announced, and is expected to undergo surgery to clean out cartilage fragments from his right knee next week. "The hope here is to have it strong and ready to go, so I can go into spring training healthy and have the best chance of success for 2014," Quentin said. Quentin, hitting .275 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs, has not played since July 30. It was be his third knee surgery in about 18 months. ... Arizona activated SS Willie Bloomquist from the disabled list Wednesday and optioned Tuesday starter LHP David Holmberg to Double-A Mobile. Holmberg gave up three runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings in an emergency start necessitated when RHP Trevor Cahill pitched four innings of relief in a 12-7, 18-inning victory at Philadelphia on Saturday. ... San Diego optioned RHP Brad Boxberger to Triple-A Tucson to make room on the roster for Erlin.
