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Cabrera's RBI in 10th gives Padres win

Sep 17, 2009 - 12:57 AM SAN DIEGO(AP) -- The show of speed from rookies Everth Cabrera and Luis Durango turned into a win for the San Diego Padres.

Cabrera's RBI single scored Durango from second base in the bottom of the 10th inning and gave the Padres a 6-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Durango, making his first major league start, opened the inning with his third infield single of the game. He stole second with one out and then beat the throw home from right fielder Justin Upton on Cabrera's single to help the Padres avoid a three-game sweep.

Cabrera had three hits, including an infield single and a bunt single. Durango, who made his major league debut as a pinch-hitter on Tuesday night, had three infield singles, two of them bunts. A third bunt went as a sacrifice, although replays appeared to show he beat the throw to first.

"Having guys like that on the base paths create havoc," Padres closer Heath Bell said.

The speed was certainly evident in the 10th when Durango slapped a ball wide of first base where Brandon Allen fielded it. But Yusmeiro Petit (3-10) was no match for Durango as he tried to cover the bag while taking the throw from Allen.

After pinch-hitter David Eckstein flied out, Durango stole second. Cabrera then grounded a ball past a diving Allen. Upton charged the ball and fielded it in medium right field.

Durango beat the throw as he slid around catcher Miguel Montero and touched the plate.

"It was a strong throw," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "There's no doubt this guy's fast. That's an understatement."

San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez, pinch-hitting for his brother Edgar, hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Esmerling Vasquez to tie the score at 5. Tony Gwynn led off the inning with a walk off Vasquez, who was charged with his fourth blown save.

Gonzalez got just enough of a fastball to slice it into the left field seats for his first career pinch-hit homer.

"He's a sinkerballer, so you look for a sinker and just try to stay with the pitch," Gonzalez said. "I'm not trying to hit a home run."

Bell (6-4) pitched the 10th for the win.

It was the speed of Durango and Cabrera that had both teams talking.

"He (Durango) played the game with us however he wanted to," Montero said. "He never hit the ball out of the infield and got three hits. I know he's fast and has good speed, but we should have played him a little better."

It has been a long time since San Diego has had two players with the kind of speed shown by Durango and Cabrera.

"Their bunt singles and their activity on the bases was tough to defend," Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. "We didn't have an answer for it."

Upton had a career-high five hits and fell a home run short of the cycle.

Upton reached on an infield single in the ninth for his fifth hit, one at-bat after he singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh against Adam Russell. Upton doubled in the first, had a fourth-inning single and hit a sixth-inning triple.

"I had a couple of shots at (the cycle)," Upton said. "If you're trying to hit a home run, you're probably not going to do it, so I was just letting things come to me."

Arizona's Mark Reynolds, who set the major league record with 204 strikeouts last season, struck out four times to reach 200 this season. No other player has ever struck out at least 200 times.

The Diamondbacks got an RBI triple from Augie Ojeda and Chris Young's run-scoring double in the fifth. Reynolds added an RBI groundout in Arizona's two-run seventh when it took a 5-3 lead.

Three San Diego errors, two by Edgar Gonzalez on the same play, led to two unearned runs for Arizona.

NOTES: Ojeda's hit broke a career hitless streak of 34 at-bats at Petco Park. ... Padres LHP Cesar Ramos made his major league debut with a scoreless ninth. ... San Diego RF Will Venable (flu-like symptoms) missed his second straight start and Eckstein (stiff neck) missed his third consecutive start. Both pinch-hit.