In Game 2 of “Manny Mania,” it was Everth Cabrera who stole the show with 3 RBIs and 2 outstanding plays on defense. Cabrera’s Fourth of July fireworks led the way for the Padres, who beat Manny’s Dodgers 7-4 on Saturday afternoon. The Padres were able to bounce back after dropping the first game of the series 6-3; and  like on the previous night, another big crowd was on hand. (a large majority of them Dodger fans)

It was the Dodgers who struck first on Saturday afternoon, and if you’ve watched any ESPN at all you would know that it was Manny Ramirez who struck the first blow. Josh Geer’s first pitch in the top of the second inning was launched by Manny into the left field seats, or “Mannywood South.” It didn’t seem like a smart idea to throw him a first-pitch changeup, as Manny had been right on the offspeed pitches on Friday night, and late on the fastballs. The Padres came back to even in the third when David Eckstein singled in Josh Geer, who had doubled to open the inning. Other than that, Dodger starter Randy Wolf was brilliant. As it got later into the game however, you could tell that it was going to be a battle of the bullpens.

With the Dodgers leading 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th, Ronald Belisario would cough up the lead for them, much to the disappointment of the largely-populated L.A. crowd. Here is where Everth Cabrera would come up clutch. His bases-loaded single drove in Eliezer Alfonso and Tony Gwynn, and his great afternoon was not even done yet. It was only the next inning when he drove in 2 more runs, with the help of Casey Blake’s error. 3 runs scored in both the 7th and 8th innings, and a 7-3 lead seemed quite comfortable.

Heath Bell came on to try and close out the game in the 8th inning, and got his first 5-out save of his career. Although he came out in the 9th struggling, he closed the door by striking out the side.

-The Padres will have their hands full today, with Chad Billingsley on the mound. The only positive thing about this is that Billingsley has a 5.06 ERA in his last 3 starts. Opposing him will be Josh Banks, who ended up pitching well in his first start, earning the win. Another big crowd is expected on hand for today.

-Rumors have been going around about 2 players who could have some value for the Padres. Kevin Kouzmanoff has been involved in rumors that could see him as a Mariner. The Padres have also been talking to the Giants about a possible Scott Hairston trade. In both cases, the Padres would be looking for some pitching.