A day after an uplifting win, the Padres built on the momentum Wednesday, winning 6-3 to take two out of three from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Yu Darvish improved to 13-7, while Josh Hader, after a rough start to his tenure with the team, recorded his second save in the past week. He has 31 on the season.
Jake Cronenworth went three-for-four with a run and an RBI in the victory, while Jurickson Profar drove in two runs and scored one.
The Padres’ big inning followed Arizona’s effort in the top of the second when Darvish gave up back-to-back solo home runs to Daulton Varsho and Corbin Carroll.
They answered with two of their own in their half of the inning, from Profar after a Josh Bell walk, and Cronenworth, to go ahead 3-2.
After Varsho tied it up in the fourth with another round-tripper, Wil Myers put the Padres ahead for good with his solo shot, though they added insurance runs in the fifth and eighth innings.
“We have the ability to slug, that showed up tonight,” manager Bob Melvin said.
One of the best bats in the lineup, though, could not finish the game. Juan Soto suffered a bruised shoulder after being hit by a pitch in the third. He left the game in the fifth, but Melvin said he thought the outfielder would be fine after the team’s off-day Thursday.
“Hopefully, with a full day’s rest, he’ll be ready to go the next day,” the manager said.
The Padres dropped the opener against Arizona Monday 5-0, but came back in stirring fashion Tuesday, scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 6-5.
With the wins, the Padres gained ground on the Milwaukee Brewers, losers of two straight. The Friars are now four games ahead in the race to secure one of the three National League wild-card spots.
Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis Jr. has had surgery to repair his left shoulder, a procedure the Padres described as successful, according to MLB.com.
Dr. Neal ElAttrache operated on Tatis, out for the remainder of the year due to his PED suspension, on Tuesday in Los Angeles, MLB reported.
The Padres welcome the Dodgers to Petco Park after their off-day, and will send Mike Clevinger, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove to the mound. They face the NL-West leaders six more times this month, all at home.