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Padres break out with five-run sixth, best Diamondbacks

Apr 21, 2008 - 12:29 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- The San Diego Padres finally found their stroke.

The Padres broke out for five runs in the sixth inning Sunday, sparking them to a 9-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Justin Huber hit his first career homer and Scott Hairston drove in a pair for San Diego, which managed its highest run-scoring output of the season and posted more than four runs in a game for just the fifth time.

The Padres have struggled to find any offense at all of late, posting just six runs in their last 49 innings entering Sunday.

But after being stymied by Randy Johnson (0-1) for one run and one hit through the first five frames, San Diego caught some luck in the sixth.

"We busted through in the sixth and the big blow really gave us some momentum," Padres manager Bud Black said. "We have to continue that on a regular basis to get where we want to be.

"There where a lot of good things today. Our bench came through and lot of guys contributed against a tough lefty. I still feel that with the guys in our lineup there will be some power there. It hasn't shown up the last 10 days or so but we think there is a home run in our lineup."

Kevin Kouzmanoff sparked the rally with a one-out double and came in to score when Chris Burke's fielding error allowed Josh Bard to reach.

After Khalil Greene singled to left, Huber drove Johnson's 1-2 offering over the left field wall to put the Padres on top, 5-1. Scott Hairston singled in another run two batters later to push it to 6-1 and chase Johnson from the contest.

"It was a really cool experience facing him. Getting it done feels like I got a monkey off my back now," Huber said of facing Johnson. "I saw that he was throwing a lot of stuff away, so I was looking for a fastball. Didn't want to mess with his slider, so I was looking for a fastball away and tried to hit it away. It was a fastball in and with quick reaction it eventually went into the seats."

Johnson, who was making just his second start in the past 10 months after undergoing back surgery, was charged with six runs - four earned - and six hits while striking out six and walking three.

"I hit a wall. I thought everything was going well. I made some untimely bad pitches and they put some things together and they did it pretty quickly," Johnson said. "Things are getting better but everything is under the microscope. It is still like spring training and you get out in tight ballgames and you make some mistakes and it can cost you."

The Diamondbacks responded with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within 6-4, but San Diego put it away with two more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth.

"I probably left Randy in at least one guy to long," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "All around it wasn't our best day but we win the series which is always our goal."

Randy Wolf (2-0) earned the win for the Padres, allowing four runs and six hits in 6 1/3 frames while striking out seven and walking one.

"I kept us in the game early but I think the story for today is definitely our hitters," Wolf said. "They really made some adjustments and came out today swinging the bats great and picked us up. Even when they scored a few runs we came back and answered."