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Medica and Padres pound Braves

Aug 2, 2014 - 7:12 AM San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tommy Medica went 5-for-5 with a pair of two-run home runs and four runs scored as the San Diego Padres thumped the Atlanta Braves, 10-1, to open a three-game set.

Everth Cabrera went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI while Chris Nelson added three hits and a run scored for the Padres, who have won three of four.

Eric Stults (4-13) pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up just one unearned run on two hits and four walks while striking out three.

"When the team starts hitting it's just contagious," said Medica.

Chris Johnson drove in the lone run of the game for the Braves, who have dropped their past four games. Mike Minor (4-7) allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings of work to take the loss.

"The game is over," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "The great thing about our game is that we get to crank it up again tomorrow."

The Padres got on the board in the first inning as Cabrera led off with a single and Medica hit a two-out homer to left for a 2-0 lead.

In the third, Cabrera led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Yangervis Solarte and came home on a double from Jedd Gyorko. Medica followed with his second homer of the game for a 5-0 advantage.

Atlanta put a run up in the fourth on an RBI single from Johnson that scored B.J. Upton, who reached second base on an error by Jeff Francoeur and moved to third on Freddie Freeman's groundout.

San Diego got the run back in the sixth when Abraham Almonte doubled and later scored on a Cabrera single.

The Padres put the game away in the seventh on RBI singles from Will Venable and Yonder Alonso that sandwiched a run-scoring double play from Almonte.

Almonte drove in another run in the eighth with a groundout to put the Padres into double-digits.

Game Notes

The Padres totaled 20 hits in the game, compared to just four for the Braves ... San Diego was 8-for-19 with runners in scoring position, while the Braves went just 1-for-12 and stranded nine ... The Braves took three of four from San Diego in a series last weekend.