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Padres outslug Astros in wild contest

Jul 29, 2007 - 11:30 PM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- After a classic pitchers' duel on Saturday, the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros broke out offensively one day later.

Mike Cameron and Adrian Gonzalez each homered for the Padres, who needed every bit of an 11-run first inning en route to an 18-11 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park on Sunday afternoon.

Brian Giles, Cameron and pitcher Tim Stauffer each drove in two runs for San Diego, which scored 11 or more runs in an inning for the sixth time in franchise history and fell just short of the club record for runs in a game (20) set on July 27, 1996 and May 19, 2001.

The Padres plated a franchise-record 13 in an inning on August 24, 1993 against the St. Louis Cardinals. On Sunday, both clubs combined to set a record for the most runs scored at Minute Maid Park.

"We took good swings against a guy who didn't have his best stuff," Cameron said. "We were finding holes, we did some damage. We got 11 runs, but they kept battling back."

All the offense came one day after Roy Oswalt and Greg Maddux dueled Saturday night. But in this one, San Diego pounded struggling Houston starter Jason Jennings (2-7), sending 15 men to the plate in its first at-bat.

"It obviously was the worst inning of my baseball career," Jennings said. "It was pretty much an embarrassment. I was embarrassed for my teammates and for the fans. It was actually pretty much hard to accept. It's one of those that you just flush down the toilet and try to move on. But it's definitely something I'll never forget."

Cameron and Gonzalez each hit two-run homers in the frame, the latter sending Jennings to the showers after just 39 pitches. However, it took a three-run fifth inning for the Padres to seal the win.

Jennings invited trouble immediately, walking the first two batters. Milton Bradley then doubled home the first run and Gonzalez followed with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

Consecutive singles by Khalil Greene and Josh Bard made it 3-0 before Jennings recorded the second out of the inning, a flyout by rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff.

Second baseman Geoff Blum walked, setting up Stauffer's two-run single to left for a 5-0 cushion, and Giles then doubled and came home on Cameron's blast to left. Bradley followed with a single and Gonzalez belted an opposite-field home run to left for an 11-0 advantage.

"I don't know that I've ever had that big of a lead at any level," Stauffer said. "You really don't change your (pitching) approach after that. I just tried to be aggressive, throw strikes, get people out."

"They gave me a cushion, but I couldn't capitalize on it."

Lance Berkman, Luke Scott and Chris Burke each hit home runs for Houston in a seven-run fourth inning that pulled the Astros within 12-8.

"Obviously you don't see 11 runs scored in the first inning very often," Berkman said. "But we came back. Then we played some bad defense, and we didn't pitch at all, so you lose."

Gonzalez, who collected three hits, was glad San Diego's offense could put the team's bullpen at ease.

"The bullpen has done so much for us this year, it was nice to get some runs for them," Gonzalez said. "(Stauffer) stayed within himself. He had a big hit, kept things going. That was huge, and allowed us to get to the top of the order."

Stauffer, recalled Sunday from Class AAA Portland to replace the ailing Chris Young, yielded seven runs and four hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked three.

"I flew in (Saturday) afternoon, and I had some adrenaline going," Stauffer said. "It was there the first inning, and after that I just told myself to slow down."

Houston manager Phil Garner was matter-of-fact about the slugfest.

"A lot of good things happened, a lot of bad things happened," Garner said. "Jason had a tough day, then a couple of pitchers pitched well, and a couple pitched badly. We didn't catch the ball very well either. But we kept battling back.

"Jason's location was off, and those first two walks kind of set the tone."

Five relievers worked the next 5 1/3 innings, including Doug Brocail (3-1), who tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames to pick up the win.

The win garnered rave reviews from Padres manager Bud Black.

"That was a great ballgame," Black said. "I mean, they got the tying run to the plate. We swung the bats well and so did they. We did a good job all day not expanding the zone.

"I thought Stauffer threw the ball great for three innings and, in the fourth, he just hit the wall. But our bullpen threw four zeros there at the end."

Eric Munson had three hits, including a homer, for the Astros, who suffered just their second loss in their last six games.