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Blanks leads Padres past Rangers 7-3

Jun 28, 2009 - 3:50 AM By DAVID JIMENEZ Associated Press Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas(AP) -- Even without much help from slugger Adrian Gonzalez, the San Diego Padres had one of their best offensive games of 2009.

Rookie Kyle Blanks drove in three runs and the Padres had a season-high 16 hits, beating the Texas Rangers 7-3 Saturday night.

The Nos. 5-9 hitters were 12 for 22 and scored six runs for San Diego. Blanks, who was called up from Triple-A Portland last week, keyed two big innings for the lowest-scoring team in baseball with run-scoring doubles.

"It was a collective effort," Padres manager Bud Black said. "When you knock out 16 hits, a lot of guys are doing good things."

Gonzalez, who is second in the majors with 24 home runs, was 1 for 5 with a single in the ninth. The Padres first baseman had protection behind him as Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley each had three hits.

Blanks had the first RBI of his career with a double in the second. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound left fielder added a two-run double in the fifth that gave San Diego a 6-1 advantage.

Blanks was 2 for 16 with six strikeouts coming into the game.

"It's nice to see all the work and practice pay off," Blanks said. "I was getting good swings at good pitches."

The Rangers dropped out of the first place for the first time since May 5. They are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West.

Rookie Derek Holland (1-5) allowed 13 hits and seven runs in 5 2-3 innings as Texas had its three-game winning streak snapped.

The 22-year-old Holland, making the sixth start of his career, was coming off one of the best performances of the season when he gave up just one run in seven innings against San Francisco last Saturday.

"The only thing that hurts is those hits found holes," Holland said. "There's nothing I can do about that."

Kevin Correia (5-5) struck out a career-high nine in seven innings, his fifth straight start pitching at least six innings. The right-hander's previous high strikeout game was eight against Atlanta on August 10, 2005.

Correia is 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA over his last five starts.

"We faced a pitcher that was on," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We ended up scratching out three runs. Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the other pitcher."

The Padres snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the fourth time in 22 interleague games dating to last season.

San Diego, which has scored 284 runs this season, had only four hits in a 12-2 loss Friday. The Padres broke out in the second by scoring three runs on five straight hits.

Kouzmanoff and Headley singled with one out. Blanks doubled off the wall in left to bring home Kouzmanoff. Henry Blanco and Everth Cabrera followed with RBI singles to give San Diego a 3-0 lead.

"We hit the ball well tonight," Kouzmanoff said. "We strung some hits together. We were able to execute with runners in scoring position and get them in."

David Eckstein had an RBI double in the fourth to extend San Diego's lead to 4-1. He added another run-scoring double in the sixth.

With two men on in the fifth, Blanks hit a grounder underneath Young's glove at third into the left-field corner to make it 6-1.

Correia, who allowed three runs and five hits, needed only 11 pitches in a spotless first inning. He struck out the side in the fifth before giving up back-to-back RBI doubles to Young and Jones in the sixth.

Texas first baseman Chris Davis hit his 15th homer of the season.

NOTES: Rangers C Taylor Teagarden was scratched from the lineup with a stomach virus. ... San Diego RHP Josh Banks will start Tuesday night's game against Houston. LHP Wade LeBlanc was originally scheduled to make the start but he was optioned to Triple-A Portland on Friday. .... Texas SS Omar Vizquel, who became the all-time Venezuelan hit leader Thursday, is donating the jersey from the record-setting game to the Hall of Fame. ... Holland struck out a career-high eight. ... The temperature was 100 degrees at first pitch for the second day in a row.