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Padres pound Pirates again, Blanks hits grand slam

Aug 7, 2011 - 4:52 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - After Friday's loss to San Diego it didn't seem like things could get much worse for Pittsburgh. Then Saturday's game came around.

After dropping a 15-5 contest in Friday's opener that saw a grand slam and four home runs, the Pirates suffered an even worse fate on Saturday, as Kyle Blanks hit a grand slam and finished with five RBI to lead the Padres to a 13-2 victory.

"I see us swinging at strikes and taking balls. We're having good at-bats," Padres manager Bud Black said.

It was the ninth loss in a row for Pittsburgh and, after a brief stay in first place in the NL Central in July, the team sits in third place and is four games under .500.

It is the longest losing streak for the team since they dropped 12 in a row from June 6-18, 2010.

The past two debacles have been part of a run that began when the team dropped a 19-inning affair to the Braves on a horrific call that allowed Julio Lugo to score the winning run. Since then, the Pirates have dropped 11 of their last 12 contests.

Orlando Hudson went 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored while Rob Johnson drove in three runs for the Padres, who have won three straight. Cory Luebke (4-6) snapped a three-start losing streak as he gave up just one run on five hits while striking out a career-high nine batters.

Paul Maholm (6-12) was tagged for seven runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings to take the loss for Pittsburgh. Garrett Jones hit a solo home run.

"Balls found holes, they used their opportunities to their advantage and we just couldn't do anything out there today," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "I'm just looking at the dugout right now and we have some guys who just aren't as sharp as they should be. It wasn't a good game."

The Padres jumped on top in the second inning when Hudson led off with a single and came around on a Blanks triple. Johnson then brought home Blanks with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

The fourth inning saw San Diego add three more runs to its lead. With runners on second and third with one out, Johnson laced a double down the left field line. Johnson then moved to third on a groundout and Cameron Maybin followed with a routine grounder to short that should have been an easy out, but Ronny Cedeno took his time throwing to ball to first, allowing Maybin to beat the throw and score Johnson for a 5-0 lead.

The Pirates got one back in the bottom of the fourth when Matt Diaz led off with a double and Neil Walker followed with a single to center, but Luebke set the next three batters down in order to limit the damage.

The seventh saw San Diego put six more runs on the board to turn the game into a rout. Chase Headley drove in the first run with a single to left and Hudson later scored Headley with a base hit. After Will Venable walked to load the bases, Blanks hit a line drive that just cleared the wall in left for the second grand slam in as many nights for the team and an 11-1 lead.

Jason Bartlett and Jesus Guzman drove in a run each in the eighth while Jones contributed his 13th home run of the season in the bottom of the frame to account for the final score.

Game Notes

Blanks tied a career-high in RBI that he originally set on April 12, 2010 against the Braves...Maholm has dropped his past three decisions and hasn't won since July 10. He is 0-4 in five games against the Padres...The Padres have won 12 of the past 14 games against the Pirates, including all six games last season.