Padres 9, Marlins 2
MIAMI - San Diego's Edinson Volquez continued his successful pattern against the Miami Marlins, winning 9-2 Friday night in the opener of a four-game series at Marlins Park.
Volquez, who is now 5-0 in six career starts against the Marlins, went six innings Friday and allowed seven hits, one walk and two runs. He struck out eight, one off his season high.
After Volquez (6-6) left the game with a 6-2 lead, the Padres added one run in the seventh and two in the eighth, and the bullpen easily shut down the Marlins the rest of the way.
With the victory, the Padres (40-40) reached .500 and ended the Marlins' three-game win streak. The Marlins are 27-51 overall, but 13-10 in June.
Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco, who is expected to be traded any time between now and July 31, was knocked out of the game with no outs in the sixth inning.
The Padres, one of the teams interested in Nolasco, added to their lead by scoring three runs in the sixth. After a single by Chase Headley and a double by Kyle Banks, Yasmani Grandal and Will Venable got run-scoring singles to make it 5-2.
Reliever Ryan Webb came in and allowed an inherited run to score, thanks to an error by shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, which allowed Grandal to score on a close play at the plate.
Nolasco's final line: five innings, 11 hits and six runs, five earned.
The Marlins got on the board in the first inning when Logan Morrison shot a triple to the gap in right-center, scoring Giancarlo Stanton, who started the rally with a two-out single.
The Padres tied the score when Headley led off the second with a single, stole second and scored on a softly hit two-out single to center by Venable.
Volquez helped his own cause by leading off the third with a single. He was able to trot home when Logan Forsythe hit a two-run homer to left to give the Padres a 3-1 lead.
The Marlins narrowed the deficit to 3-2 when Placido Polanco drew a one-out walk and scored on Stanton's double to right-center, the same gap Morrison found in the first.
Venable saved a run in the fourth when he came in and made a diving catch on a sinking liner hit by Nolasco. Derek Dietrich, who had doubled with two outs, would have scored easily had the ball fallen safely.
NOTES: The Padres promoted RHP Burch Smith from Triple A on Friday. To make room for Smith, the Padres sent lefty reliever Tommy Layne to Triple A. ... The Marlins entered Friday 13-9 in June, the fourth-best record in the majors for the month. The Marlins' 10 comeback wins in June are tied with the Royals for most in the majors. And the Marlins' bullpen was 8-4 with nine saves and a 2.65 ERA. The eight bullpen wins are tied for second in any month in club history and also rank tied for second in the majors this June. ... For the Padres with Miami ties, it has been a rough year so far. Ex-Marlins CF Cameron Maybin and former University of Miami 1B Yonder Alonso are on the disabled list. Ex-Marlins OF Mark Kotsay is a backup. And former University of Miami C Grandal is off to a slow start after losing the first 50 games of the season due to a PED suspension. ... This was the first of a 10-game road trip for the Padres. ... The Padres swept a three-game series from the Marlins in San Diego May 6-8, including two shutouts. Those are the Padres' only two shutouts of the season. ... Entering Friday, the Padres had lost six of 10 since losing shortstop Everth Cabrera to injury. Cabrera's 31 steals and .382 on-base percentage have been tough to replace. Cabrera, who has also been excellent defensively, could start running this week, and the Padres are hoping he will be ready to come off the disabled list on July 2. ... When Polanco homered Wednesday, it was the first long ball all season by a Marlins' third baseman. Only the A's second basemen and the Nationals' center fielders have yet to homer this season among a group of position players.
