Eric Hosmer earned his salary Sunday when he stepped up to the plate at the bottom of the fifth inning. With the pitch count at 3-1, he slugged the ball deep center for a two-run home run that put the San Diego Padres up 2-0.
The homer was Hosmer’s fifth this season and it was enough to propel the Padres to shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 at Estadio de Beisbol in Monterrey, Mexico. The Mexico Series, part of Major League Baseball’s expansion plan, was considered a home game for the Padres.
“We realized this series was going to be special,” Hosmer said. “We wanted to come here and put on a good show for ’em. I’m happy we were on top.”
Hosmer also had a two-run homer Saturday in the 7-4 win against the Dodgers. The first baseman is on a hot streak. During the past two weeks, he’s reached base in 26 of his 46 at-bats. Sunday’s dinger was Hosman’s third in the past five games.
Padres prospect Eric Lauer, who has been winless in two starts with a 10.13 ERA, picked up his first MLB win after pitching six shutout innings. It wasn’t easy for Lauer though, he gave up seven runs and had runners on base in every inning. But he was able to find ways to strand them every time.
“We needed it,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “I don’t think a single inning came easy for him. … But overall, he steps up and makes big pitches when he has to. That’s a really encouraging thing to see.”
The win was the first series win and the first back-to-back win for the Padres since taking three in a row from the Giants on April 13-15.
“Obviously, we haven’t played a ton of winning baseball,” Green said. “Our record says that. I think we’re seeing a lot of good signs from our guys. Winning a series is the first step to winning consecutive series.”
Up next the Padres returned to Petco Park for a nine-game homestand, starting with the Washington Nationals on Monday. This is will be Tyson Ross’ first start at Petco Park since April 14. He’s taking on former SDSU star Stephen Strasburg.