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Schoeneweis' wildness costly as Padres tip Mets

Jun 6, 2008 - 7:05 AM By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Scott Schoeneweis hit Paul McAnulty with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to bring home the winning run as the San Diego Padres earned a 2-1 triumph over the New York Mets in the opener of a four-game set on Thursday.

Schoeneweis (0-2) entered the game in the ninth and walked Scott Hairston and Brian Giles before getting Adrian Gonzalez on a groundout that advanced both runners.

After an intentional walk to Kevin Kouzmanoff loaded the bases, Schoeneweis' first pitch plunked McAnulty on the right shoulder and plated Hairston with the decisive run.

"Any way you can get a run, any way you can get a (win) in the big leagues, we'll take it," McAnulty said. "It's part of the game, you know. Baseball is a weird game. There is no real rational explanation. Things just happen."

"Those were a couple of tough at-bats there to start the inning," Schoeneweis said. "It's tough to lose a game that way. I don't think anyone really even hit the ball."

Trevor Hoffman (1-4) retired the side in order in the top of the frame to notch the victory.

San Diego starter Josh Banks collected his first major league hit in the third against New York starter Mike Pelfrey and scored on a double by Tadahito Iguchi to give the Padres an early 1-0 lead.

Iguchi collected another hit in the seventh, his third of the night, before injuring his shoulder after falling while trying to avoid a ground ball off the bat of Kevin Kouzmanoff.

"(Iguchi) has a separated shoulder," Black said. "It looks like it could be four weeks minimum of just rest. He landed on the right shoulder trying to avoid the ball."

Banks blanked the Mets over five frames before Jose Reyes singled to lead off the sixth and came home on a single by David Wright to even the score at 1-1.

That marked the first earned run in 22 innings given up by San Diego's rookie righthander, who threw a complete game in his last outing in San Francisco.

"I'm just trying to keep the hitters off balance and work ahead," Banks said. "I think it's just focusing on getting strike one and after that just going pitch by pitch. It's kind of cliche, but really, if you think of it that way, you keep yourself in the game."

Giles collected four walks on the night for the Padres, who have won two in a row after dropping three straight games.

Reyes had a pair of singles and two steals for the Mets, who had won seven of their last nine contests.

"We had a few opportunities, but not many," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "Any time you play in this kind of ballpark, you're not going to get a lot of runs and you have to manufacture things and get timely hits to capitalize on them. We didn't do a good job of that tonight."