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Padres' Peavy, Ensberg derail Diamondbacks

Aug 2, 2007 - 11:30 PM SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- San Diego Padres righthander Jake Peavy and third baseman Morgan Ensberg made their presences felt on Thursday.

Peavy scattered three hits and struck out 10 while Ensberg homered twice as the Padres avoided a three-game sweep with an 11-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Peavy (11-5) fanned the side in the first, and then had at least one strikeout in his seven innings en route to reaching the 1,000-strikeout plateau in his 160th game, faster than any player in franchise history.

No Arizona baserunner advanced past second base against Peavy, who threw 72 of 103 pitches for strikes in recording double-digit strikeouts for the fifth time this season.

Cla Meredith pitched a scoreless eighth and Wilfredo Ledezma was flawless in the ninth for San Diego, which won for just the second time in five games.

"This was important, absolutely, like any win is," Padres manager Bud Black said. "We felt it was a big win in Jake's last start, because we had lost a couple in a row, and he pitched a great game in Houston. He did what his caliber of pitcher is supposed to do, and totally shut down the opposition."

It was the second straight strong performance for Peavy, who limited the Houston Astros to one run and four hits in seven innings of a 9-4 win on Friday. He began the season 9-2 with a 2.18 ERA, earning the right to start the All-Star game.

He did struggle after the break, losing three straight starts while giving up 10 runs in 19 frames.

"I didn't feel like I was getting roughed up in that stretch, but I just wasn't myself," Peavy said. "Guys were having at-bats and their approach was better. I tried to be more conscientious of changing speeds and little mechanical stuff that made the breaking stuff sharper. It's been good."

Peavy received all the offense he would need in the second inning, courtesy of Ensberg.

Ensberg, who was acquired from the Houston Astros on Tuesday prior the trading deadline, belted a two-run homer in the second - his first hit as a Padre - against Arizona starter Yusmeiro Petit (2-3).

Ensberg added another two-run shot in the Padres' five-run seventh to build a 10-0 lead. The multi-homer game is Ensberg's fifth of his career, with his last one coming on April 18, 2006 against Milwaukee.

"I felt great out there," Ensberg said. "I got pitches to hit today and that I was able to put some good cuts on. It just felt great to help, especially the first home run to get out ahead and have them play catch-up with Jake out on the mound. It was huge."

Adrian Gonzalez and Khalil Greene also homered to help the Padres snap a five-game losing streak at Petco Park.

"It was a good day all-around," Black said. "It was great to see us swing the bats collectively today. Morgan swung the bat great today, he really did."

Petit yielded five runs for the second consecutive outing, lasting 4 1/3 innings and giving up five hits. The 22-year-old righthander struck out five and walked four.

"(Petit) was good early on, he just got a couple of balls up," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "He missed with location a couple of pitches, and every time he did, he ended up paying for it."

Top prospect Justin Upton made his major-league debut for Arizona, entering the game in the eighth after being called up from Class AA Mobile earlier in the day.

"It was awesome just being able to get out there and see what it's like," Upton said. "I just went out and busted it and played hard this year, and I do feel like I am ready to be here and I'm going to take it in stride. Once you get that first one out of the way, it's just about playing baseball."

The Diamondbacks had won 10 of 11, but were shut out for the second time in four games and sixth time overall.