Final
Tomko sharp as Padres win seventh straight
Sep 20, 2007 - 11:51 PM By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing WriterSAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Brett Tomko hurled six stellar innings as the surging San Diego Padres complete a four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with 6-3 triumph on Thursday afternoon.
Rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in a pair of runs for the Padres, who maintained a perfect record through the first seven contests of their 10-game homestand. San Diego's stellar play has come at an important time.
The win was a season-high seventh in a row for the Padres (85-67), who pulled within one-half game of the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks (86-67) in the National League West Division. San Diego leads the NL wild card race by three games over Philadelphia (82-70), which plays at Washington later Thursday night.
"It's a lot of fun," Kouzmanoff said. "It seems like time is flying by and we've got a good shot in the playoff race. That's why we're here - to win and go to the postseason."
Tomko (4-11) won his second straight start since signing with the Padres earlier this month after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 34-year-old righthander allowed three runs and five hits while striking out six without a walk.
He retired the final 11 batters he faced.
"The ball was coming out of my hand good, and I had all of my pitches working," Tomko said. "I think it's great because of the fact of when I got designated keeps me out of the playoffs. So, this is my playoff race. To come and basically double my win total from LA in two games is definitely a satisfying feeling."
Doug Brocail tossed a scoreless seventh inning and Heath Bell worked a clean eighth, setting up Trevor Hoffman for his 40th save. It marks the ninth straight season the all-time saves leader has reached the plateau, extending his own major league record.
"I say things like individual accomplishments are obtained from team success, and that's definitely the case in this situation," Hoffman said. "To reach a milestone like that takes a group effort. I've definitely been a benefactor of a lot of people around me."
Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead as Nyjer Morgan led off the game with a triple and scored on Cesar Izturis' groundout.
Scott Hairston and Michael Barrett keyed a three-run second against Pirates starter Matt Morris to give San Diego the advantage.
Carlos Maldonado homered as Pittsburgh scored two in the third to tie the game. But San Diego added three runs in the bottom half to build a 6-3 cushion.
Morris (9-11) was hit hard for the second consecutive outing, allowing six runs in four innings. In his previous start, he surrendered seven runs in 3 1/3 frames against Houston.
"What I saw today was that they hit a couple of (Morris') breaking balls," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "Obviously, they got a couple of guys on base and there were some doubles hit. They scored runs and got the lead."
The 33-year-old righthander did not walk or strike out a batter.
Morgan had two hits and scored twice for the Pirates, who have lost six straight.
"That's definitely a good team over there," Morgan said of the Padres. "They're hungry right now because they're definitely trying for a playoff spot. As long as we just keep going out there, we'll try to finish the season strong."
- NL
FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 0
SAN DIEGO 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 x 6 8 0 (FINAL)
BATTERIES: PIT - MATT MORRIS, SHANE YOUMAN (5TH), ROMULO SANCHEZ (8TH) AND
CARLOS MALDONADO
SDG - BRETT TOMKO, DOUG BROCAIL (7TH), HEATH BELL
(8TH), TREVOR HOFFMAN (9TH) AND
Sep 20 5:49 PM - NL
AT SAN DIEGO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY KEVIN KOUZMANOFF SCORED MIKE CAMERON AND KHALIL
GREENE.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, K KOUZMANOFF ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 3
SAN DIEGO 6 BOTTOM, 3RD
DUE UP FOR SAN DIEGO: S HAIRSTON (.253, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
Pirates vs. PadresSep 20 4:32 PM - NL
AT SAN DIEGO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY KHALIL GREENE SCORED GEOFF BLUM.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, K GREENE ON SECOND, M CAMERON ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 3
SAN DIEGO 4 BOTTOM, 3RD
DUE UP FOR SAN DIEGO: K KOUZMANOFF (.269, 1-FOR-1)
Pirates vs. PadresSep 20 4:31 PM - NL
AT SAN DIEGO - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY FREDDY SANCHEZ SCORED NYJER MORGAN.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, F SANCHEZ ON FIRST, C IZTURIS ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 3
SAN DIEGO 3 TOP, 3RD
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: A LAROCHE (.272, 0-FOR-1)
Pirates vs. PadresSep 20 4:16 PM - NL
AT SAN DIEGO - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY CARLOS MALDONADO (2) TO LEFT CENTER WITH 0
OUT IN THE 3RD OFF BRETT TOMKO.
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 2, SAN DIEGO 3
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: M MORRIS (.208, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
Pirates vs. PadresSep 20 4:10 PM - NL
AT SAN DIEGO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MICHAEL BARRETT SCORED KEVIN KOUZMANOFF AND SCOTT
HAIRSTON.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, M BARRETT ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 1
SAN DIEGO 3 BOTTOM, 2ND
DUE UP FOR SAN DIEGO: B TOMKO (.000, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
Pirates vs. PadresSep 20 4:03 PM - NL
AT SAN DIEGO - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY SCOTT HAIRSTON SCORED ADRIAN GONZALEZ.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, S HAIRSTON ON SECOND, K KOUZMANOFF ON THIRD, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 1
SAN DIEGO 1 BOTTOM, 2ND
DUE UP FOR SAN DIEGO: M BARRETT (.243, 9 HR, 39 RBI)
Pirates vs. PadresSep 20 4:02 PM - NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 1 1 1 0
SAN DIEGO 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: PIT - MATT MORRIS
SDG - BRETT TOMKO
DUE UP FOR SAN DIEGO: B GILES (.278, 11 HR, 43 RBI)
G BLUM (.249, 5 HR, 29 RBI)
M CAMERON (.246, 21 HR, 78 RBI)
Pirates vs. PadresSep 20 3:41 PM
Related News
- Update: Padres officially sign reliever Yuki Matsui to five-year deal Dec 23
- Pirates Top Games of 2023: No. 6 - Drew Maggi gets his moment Dec 23
- The Pirates got it right with Andrew McCutchen Dec 22
- Padres notes: Luis Patino brought back, Victor Rodriguez next hitting coach Dec 22
- Good Morning San Diego: Could Padres trade Ha-Seong Kim, Jake Cronenworth? Dec 22
- Bucs Arghticles: Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen makes comments after signing Dec 22
- Pirates targeting first baseman in upcoming MLB Draft Dec 22
- Good Morning San Diego: Who is new Padres reliever Yuki Matsui? Dec 21
- Bucs Arghticles: Pirates sign Ryan Mattson Dec 21
- Pirates Top Games of 2023: No. 7 - Johan Oviedo shuts out the Royals Dec 20
- Andrew McCutchen re-signs with Pirates for 2024 season Dec 19
- Good Morning San Diego: Braves release Matt Carpenter after Padres trade Dec 19