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Hundley's homer, Latos' pitching carry Padres

May 30, 2010 - 4:00 AM By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO(AP) -- Nick Hundley and Mat Latos form quite the battery for the San Diego Padres.

Hundley hit a three-run home run in the first inning and Latos won his fourth straight decision as the San Diego Padres beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Saturday night.

Hundley, who has been splitting time at catcher with Yorvit Torrealba, accounted for all four Padres runs. He tripled leading off the fourth and scored on Chris Denorfia's groundout.

"That was a good one for both those guys," manager Bud Black said. "They've been working well together."

Latos (5-3) struck out eight as he held Washington to two runs and four hits in six innings. He walked three.

Heath Bell pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save.

Hundley homered to left with two outs in the first off J.D. Martin (0-1), who was making his season debut. It was his third home run. Adrian Gonzalez reached on a fielding error by second baseman Adam Kennedy followed by Chase Headley's single. All three runs were unearned.

Hundley drove a ball to deep left-center leading off the fourth that hit the fence as center fielder Nyjer Morgan mistimed his jump. The ball caromed away, allowing Hundley to pull into third. He scored on Denorfia's bouncer to third, making it 4-2.

"I thought I hit it out and then I saw Morgan keep going, so I said, 'You better keep going a little bit,"' Hundley said.

"He hit it pretty good," Morgan said. "I went up to jump on the wall and bring it back, but missed the ball and he got a triple out of it."

The Padres are making the best out of the combination of the veteran Torrealba and the 26-year-old Hundley.

"It's a tough one because they're both playing well," Black said. "We're fortunate to have two guys who, on a lot of other teams, could be everyday starting catchers. It's a luxury. Those guys are handling it great. They're both being extremely unselfish."

Hundley said he needs to keep sharp when he's not in the lineup.

"Obviously you look around the league - name somebody who got three hits the night before and wasn't in the lineup the next day," Hundley said, referring to Torrealba's three hits in a loss to the Nationals on Friday night. "He's swinging the bat great, calling great games. We're winning a lot of games when he's behind the plate, so I'm just trying to stay focused and give us the same chance he gives us."

Latos had another strong start. His only rough inning was the second, when Adam Dunn walked, Josh Willingham singled and Kennedy followed with an RBI single up the middle. Wil Nieves had an RBI groundout to pull the Nationals to 3-2.

"Me and Nick have a relationship that goes outside of baseball," Latos said. "I think that every one of our starters has that kind of relationship with him. If I have any questions I know I can ask him regardless whether it's on-field stuff or off-field stuff. That has a lot to do with it chemistry-wise between me and Nick."

Said Hundley: "It's huge. I think he knows that I have his back, whatever situation we're in. It's a nice little combination. We've been pretty successful and we need to keep it going."

Martin (0-1) allowed four runs, one earned, and four hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked none. He was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to start in place of Scott Olsen, who is on the disabled list because of left shoulder inflammation.

Hundley homered on a hanging curveball.

"It was a bad pitch to Hundley, and he got me," Martin said. "He did exactly what he was supposed to do with it. I was trying to throw in the dirt and I just kind of hung it and left it up."

NOTES: Highlights from the final three outs of the perfect game by Philadelphia's Roy Halladay were shown on the big screen before the start of the eighth inning. The Padres remain one of three teams without a no-hitter. ... Padres manager Bud Black said an MRI exam on SS Everth Cabrera's strained right hamstring showed that a recent tear is in the same spot as the injury Cabrera sustained last month. Black said that's good news because it should heal quicker than a fresh tear. Until the MRI, the Padres thought the injury was in a different spot. Cabrera is on the disabled list for the second time this season. ... Black said Scott Hairston (strained left hamstring) and Kyle Blanks (strained right elbow) are picking up speed in their recoveries. Both are on the DL.