The Sports Xchange
May 9, 2017
SAN DIEGO -- Ryan Schimpf, Austin Hedges and Cory Spangenberg hit solo homers, and Trevor Cahill allowed one hit over 5 1/3 scoreless innings Monday night as the San Diego Padres opened a four-game, home-and-home set against the Texas Rangers with a 5-1 victory at Petco Park.
Cahill and relievers Brad Hand, Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer combined on a two-hitter while striking out 13.
By winning their first interleague game of the season, the Padres snapped a four-game losing streak. The Rangers have lost three in a row and are 2-5 with a game to go on their road trip before returning home to host the Padres on Wednesday.
Schimpf and Hedges each had two hits and scored two runs. Hedges also had a second RBI against Rangers starter Nick Martinez (0-2).
Cahill (3-2) issued five walks while striking out seven in a 100-pitch performance.
Before they homered off Martinez, Schimpf and Hedges played key roles in the Padres' two-run second that opened the scoring.
Schimpf led off the inning with a double to right-center, moved to third on Hunter Renfroe's topper in front of the plate and scored on Hedges' single off the glove of Rangers' drawn-in second baseman Rougned Odor.
After Erick Aybar flied out, Cahill kept the inning alive with a single that moved Hedges to second. The catcher scored on a head-first slide on Manuel Margot's single to right.
Schimpf's ninth homer of the season came with two outs in the third. The 377-foot drive into the right-field stands was the third baseman's sixth in the last 11 games. Hedges led off the fourth with his seventh homer of the season, a 412-foot drive to center.
With one out in the fifth, Cahill walked Elvis Andrus, then hit Carlos Gomez with a pitch. He departed in favor of left-handed reliever Hand, who struck out Joey Gallo and Jonathan Lucroy to get out of the inning.
The only hit off Cahill was a sinking line drive to left by Gomez that fell in front of Spangenberg, who is a third baseman playing left field in the absence of injured outfielders Travis Jankowski and Alex Dickerson.
The Padres' bid for a shutout ended with one out in the bottom of the seventh when Shin-Soo Choo homered off Hand.
Martinez allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts in six innings.
NOTES: Just before the start of the game, the Padres acquired 27-year-old OF Matt Szczur from the Chicago Cubs in a trade for Double-A RHP Justin Hancock. To make room on the 40-man roster for Szczur, the Padres transferred LHP Buddy Baumann (shoulder) from the 10-day to the 60-day disabled list. ... The Rangers placed RHP Jose Leclerc on the 10-day disabled list due to a bruised right index finger and recalled LHP Dario Alvarez from Triple-A Round Rock. ... Texas RHP Tyson Ross (shoulder) pitched a two-inning, 30-pitch simulated game Monday. The mound was familiar. Ross was a Padre from 2013 through the end of last season. ... Rangers OF Nomar Mazara, whose batting average is down to .231, was given a second consecutive day off but is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday afternoon.