Amarista helps Padres slip past D'Backs
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alexi Amarista went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI and Clayton Richard pitched well into the ninth inning, as the Padres beat the Diamondbacks, 6-2.
The Padres, who entered the three-game series tied for last in the majors in home runs, also received solo shots from Cameron Maybin and Yasmani Grandal.
The unusual power surge backed a strong start by Richard (6-8), who was one out away from recording his third career complete game after scattering two runs on eight hits and a walk.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trevor Cahill (6-7) was on the opposite end of the decision, as he allowed four runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and three walks over six frames.
Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-3 with a RBI and Chris Young homered for Arizona, which has dropped three straight to fall under .500 at 39-40.
Amarista, homerless in the first 124 at-bats of his career, went deep for the fourth time in his last five games in the first inning, hammering a changeup high in the zone over the wall in right.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maybin also got a hold of his fourth home run of the season in the sixth, crushing a Cahill offering well over the 450-foot mark in left-center.
Not to be outdone, Amarista knocked in Everth Cabrera and Will Venable with a double to right-center later in the inning. Cabrera had reached on an error and Venable was hit by a pitch.
Richard had runners on the corners and no outs in the sixth, but limited the damage to one run on Goldschmidt's sacrifice fly.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Grandal golfed one off Mike Zagurski in the away seventh, and Young hammered his homer deep over the high wall in center field in the bottom half.
San Diego added an insurance run in the ninth when Yonder Alonso worked a bases-loaded walk against Brad Ziegler to force in Chase Headley.
Richard recorded two quick outs in the ninth, but was pulled after allowing a pair of two-out singles. Joe Thatcher entered from the bullpen and ran the count full against Jason Kubel, then caught the pinch-hitter looking at strike three to earn his first career save.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It was, overall, a poor game of execution for us and that was something that we need to fix," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said.
Game Notes
The Padres and Dodgers each had 45 home runs coming into Monday's action. By comparison, the league-leading Yankees belted 124...Richard, who threw 73 of his 115 pitches for strikes, is 4-0 in six career meetings against Arizona...The Padres are 0-7-1 in their last eight series in Phoenix...San Diego's only other complete game this year was recorded by Anthony Bass, who tossed eight innings in a 6-1 loss at Washington on May 15...Arizona had a four-game home winning streak snapped...The Diamondbacks have homered in 13 straight games for the first time since 1999.