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Hairston's slam leads Padres over Mets

Jun 1, 2010 - 6:18 AM By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO(AP) -- Down one run, with the bases loaded and two outs, Jerry Hairston Jr. launched the San Diego Padres to a record night with one swing.

Hairston hit a grand slam in the second inning and Chase Headley had a homer among his four hits as the San Diego Padres set the scoring record for Petco Park in an 18-6 laugher against the New York Mets on Monday night.

"They're a pretty good team, man, they really are, and for us to have an outburst like that, it's good to see," Hairston said.

The previous scoring mark was set by the Padres in a 17-2 win over Atlanta in their home opener on April 12. Petco Park opened in 2004. Headley scored four runs while Chris Denorfia and Adrian Gonzalez scored three apiece.

San Diego roughed up left-hander Hisanori Takahashi and the Mets' bullpen for 19 hits, matching the season high set on April 12. Denorfia and Nick Hundley had three hits apiece.

The NL West-leading Padres chased Takahashi after tagging the Japanese newcomer for six runs and eight hits in four innings, the shortest of his three starts. Takahashi (4-2) had thrown six scoreless innings in each of his first two starts. He opened the season as a reliever.

Takahashi allowed singles to Hundley, Denorfia and Oscar Salazar opening the second. He got Luis Durango to fly out to left and struck out starter Kevin Correia before Hairston launched an 0-1 pitch into the balcony on the third floor of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner.

It was the third homer of the season for Hairston and his second career slam. His other slam came July 15, 2005, against Pittsburgh while he was with the Chicago Cubs.

"That was huge," Hundley said. "If he gets out of that jam right there, he gets a little momentum, we let him off the hook, he starts to settle into a little rhythm and who knows what happens. So for him to come through with a grand slam was the biggest play of the game, no doubt about it."

The Padres then piled it on against the Mets' bullpen, scoring 10 runs off four relievers in the next two innings, getting eight hits and five walks.

"It's just a funny game," Headley said. "We swung the bats well tonight, but we also had some good luck. We had some balls that fell in for us that hadn't been falling in. It's nice to break out and have a big night like that."

With Takahashi struggling with his command, the Padres "did a good job of making him come over the heart of the plate," manager Jerry Manuel said. "The excellent command that he has shown in the last couple of games was just off a touch for him, and they made him pay for it."

Raul Valdes started the fifth and didn't retire any of the five Padres he faced, allowing four runs, two hits and three walks. He issued consecutive bases-loaded walks to Denorfia and Salazar before Jenrry Mejia came on and gave up a two-run single to Durango - his first two big league RBIs.

"I don't know what happened there," Manuel said. Valdes hadn't pitched since Tuesday. "We thought we were doing him a favor by giving him a break. That wasn't the case," Manuel said. "He couldn't find the strike zone. That's definitely not him.

"The fact we didn't throw strikes, that always bothers me," Manuel said. "It always raises a great deal of concern because you can't defend that."

Ryota Igarashi started the sixth and got only one out while allowing six runs, four hits and two walks. The big hits were Denorfia's two-run double and Will Venable's pinch-hit two-run single, plus an error on first baseman Ike Davis that allowed another run to score on the play.

Headley homered off Oliver Perez in the seventh, his fourth.

The Padres were particularly potent with the bases loaded, going 4 for 7 with two walks and 12 RBIs.

The Mets actually made a game of it for a while. Trailing 6-1, they got a two-run triple by Jose Reyes and an RBI groundout by Alex Cora in the fifth to pull to 6-4. After falling behind 10-4, Rod Barajas hit a two-run homer off Correia (5-4) in the sixth to make it 10-6.

"When you battle back there to get back in the game, it's tough to do a third time," Barajas said.

Correia allowed six runs and seven hits in six innings.

The Mets lost for the third time in four games. They lost 13 of 17 road games in May.

NOTES: It was the fourth time this season the Padres scored in double figures.