The Padres tried to finish off another dismal year of interleague play on a positive note–and they did. With a fantastic pitching performance by Chad Gaudin, the Padres finished interleague play with a 5-10 record. This 2-0 win over the Rangers also gave them their only interleague series win. Things seemed bleak after the Rangers destroyed us 12-2 on Friday night, but the team managed to turn it around–thanks to the two hottest Padre starting pitchers. 

It would have been hard to follow up Kevin Correia’s great outing from yesterday. Correia went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs in the Padres 7-3 victory. However, Chad Gaudin was able to top it on Sunday night, going 8 shutout innings. He allowed just one hit, walked only two batters, and struck out nine in the Texas heat. All of this coming after his best start as a Padre against the Mariners up in Seattle, a performance in which he struck out 11.

There’s no doubt Kevin Correia and Chad Gaudin have shown flashes of good pitching, but it’s been amazing how they have been able to step into the ace roles that Jake Peavy and Chris Young had before getting hurt. With Young possibly not coming back until after the All Star Break, and Peavy out at least into August, these two guys are going to have to keep up the good work if the Padres want to have any say in the playoff hunt. (Yes, i said it)

Other Notes:

• Scott Hairston drove in both runs for the Pads on Sunday evening. The first came on a solo home run to left field in the fourth. Then in the sixth, he singled past a drawn-in Rangers infield to score Cabrera. Thanks to Gaudin and closer Heath Bell, that’s all the Padres needed.
• Heath Bell recorded his 21st save of the season, tied for first in the majors.
• Kyle Blanks recorded his second multi-hit game in as many nights against the Rangers.
• The Padres host the Houston Astros for a 4-game series starting tomorrow night. Hopefully we can avenge for the sweep the Astros handed us back in Houston. The first task: Roy Oswalt. 

It was nice to finally see someone pay for all of the walks Adrian Gonzalez has been drawing. The Padres’ lineup has seen a lot of changes, including the spot behind Adrian Gonzalez. No one wants to pitch to Adrian Gonzalez-why should they, he leads baseball with 22 home runs. Kevin Kouzmanoff was the player who was able to come through in last night’s game against the D-Backs. Mostly after Adrian Gonzalez’s 3walks, Kouzmanoff had two big 2-run knocks.

In his first 2 at-bats, Koumanoff struggled. Withthe bases loaded with one out in the first inning, Kouzmanoff hit an unproductive fly ball to shallow right field. This came after Adrian’s first walk of the game. In his second at-bat, Kouz hit into a double play. Jon Garland looked like he would roll over the Padres once again, and it looked like Jake Peavy would once again not recieve any run support. That was the feeling until the bottom of the 5th. Arizona had a 2-0 lead, and a rally was desperately needed. The Padres got it, starting with Henry Blanco. Blanco walked, and that was followed by a Josh Wilson single. After Jake Peavy got a crucial bunt down, Tony Gwynn knocked in Blanco with a single. Eckstein hit a sac fly to tie up the game, and the big hitters were coming up. However, Garland worked around them, hitting Brian Giles with a pitch and walking Gonzalez. (of course) The last thing Kevin Kouzmanoff wanted to do was leave the bases loaded again. So, on the first pitch, Kouzknocked in 2 runs with an opposite field single. Jake and the Padres now had a 4-2 lead. With Garland still pitching in the 7th, Kouzmanoffput an exclamation point on the night with another 2 out, 2-run hit.

Coming off the respiratory infection, Jake Peavy came up big in this one. Peavy went 7 strong innings, striking out 8 batters. Heath Bell picked up his 17th save.       

If I knew that the Padres were going to wait until the 18th inning to fall to the Arizona Diamondbacks late Sunday afternoon, I’d have preferred that they not make the comeback at all. Because in a game that lasted 5 hours and 45 minutes, the Padres used all their relief pitchers, an additional starter Chad Gaudin, and infielder Josh Wilson. Wilson ended up giving up the go-ahead home run to Arizona’s Mark Reynolds in the 18th inning, but let’s start at the beginning.

Josh Geer took the mound for the Padres, pitching 5 innings, giving up 5 hits and 4 runs. The Arizona 4-run fifth inning against Geer included a 3-run double from Josh Whitesell. The D-Backs then tagged Joe Thatcher for 2 more runs in the sixth, and the Padres found themselves down 6-0. On top of that, they were facing one of the league’s better pitchers in Dan Haren. Haren kept the shutout going until 2 outs in the 7th, when he gave up a solo home run to Kevin Kouzmanoff. Haren finished the sevn innings, only giving up that one run.

He certainly deserved better.

That’s when the D-Backs bullpen came in. The Padres have found success against the D-Backs bullpen this season, and that’s why they weren’t out of it yet. Down 6-1 in the bottom of the 9th, the Padres were to face Juan Gutierrez. Immediately, the Padres came out swinging the bats. Adrian Gonzalez doubled and Chase Headley’s single drove him in to make it 6-2. Gutierrez then walked Giles and retired Kevin Kouzmanoff before being removed for the closer Chad Qualls. Against Qualls, Nick Hundley roped a ground ball that the diving Mark Reynolds couldn’t quite smother and make a play on. With the score 6-3, Chris Burke grounded into a fielder’s choice. With runners on first and third and 2 outs, David Eckstein was to be the pinch-hitter. NOT the guy you’d expect to tie the game with one swing of the bat. Eck wasted no time however, parking a home run down the left field line. The remaining fans at the ballpark went nuts…the score was now tied.

“Nothing Eck does surprises me anymore,” said manager Buddy Black. “He’s a guy who always rises to occasion.”

Unfortunately, no other Padres hitter rose to the occasion on this afternoon. In fact, the Padres didn’t get another HIT after Eckstein’s home run. 

The Padres offense is the definition of streaky: one moment they’ll rally for 5 runs to tie up the ballgame, then they’ll go hitless for the rest of it. The “rest of it,” happened to be a whole other game. The Padres’ bullpen did what they could, with even Chad Gaudin pitching 2 innings. In the 18th inning, Josh Wilson was sent out to the mound. Wilson had last pitched in high school, but he descibed the whole pitching thing as “natural to him.” He almost got out of it, but with 2 runners on and 2 away (on a full count pitch I might add), Mark Reynolds drove an opposite field home run over the out of town scoreboard in right field. The Diamondbacks fans that had stayed at the ballpark rejoiced. (Because who wants to be in Arizona in the summer..?)

Jake Peavy is going to have to pitch the game of his life tonight, whether he’s hurt or not. A complete game would be nice, and Jake has thrown the Padres’ only complete game of the season. Peavy, who is 5-6; takes on Jon Garland, a guy that the Padres’ anemic offense has never fared well against.