SAN DIEGO _ Edwin Jackson took four pitches in the sixth inning, then took a lead at first base and took off for second.
Why not?
The 32-year-old journeyman had everything else working.
On a Wednesday afternoon in which a crowd of 24,124 at Petco Park witnessed the first steal of a 14-year career, Jackson was even better on the mound.
A lot better.
Backed by an offense that managed a little bit of everything _ from Jabari Blash's first career homer to Yangeervis Solarte's two-run job to two more steals from Travis Jankowski _ Jackson struck out five and didn't walk a batter over eight strong innings in a 12-3 win that clinched a series victory over the Brewers. He also doubled in a run, walked and scored after attempting just the second steal of a career that's seen him play for 11 organizations.
Yes, Wednesday was a fun day at the park.
"It's definitely fun when you're in the National League," Jackson said after allowing three runs in the eighth inning to spoil his bid for a complete game. "You get to be a player again. You get to feel like you're part of the game. ... I know we're pitchers, but at the end of the day, when you have a bat in your hand, you can help make or break a game at the plate.
"You definitely want to come out and try to join the parade, get a hit and run the bases and join the action a little bit."
There was plenty to go around.
At least on the Padres' side.
They chased Brewers right-hander Junior Guerra (4 IP, 4 ER) before the fifth inning, piled on four more runs in the sixth and celebrated Blash's first career home run to lead off the seventh with a silent treatment.
Of course, that's not the greeting that the 27-year-old Blash is expecting upon phoning his mother back in the Virgin Islands to relish a blast that arrived after six years in the minors, a frustrating stint as a Rule-5 outfielder and return to the Pacific Coast League.
"I'm sure she'll be screaming," Blash said after his opposite-field homer left the bat at 106 mph, traveled 369 feet and opened up a 9-0 lead.
As far Blash, he was still smiling afterward.
Finally, he's feeling at ease after going 3-for-25 as a seldom-used bat off the bench over the first month-and-half of the season.
"You get more settled with more at-bats," said Blash, a career .501 slugger in the minors who is 3-for-9 in this second stint with the Padres. "You see some pitches, get the jitters out and get comfortable."
Added Padres manager Andy Green: "He was never comfortable the first time around. He didn't look stressed, but he wasn't really getting enough reps to really settle into anything. I still go back to the walks he takes � he's getting hit a few times now, too � and you add in the power and that plays offensively. ...
"I have no hesitation running him out there and watching him do his thing."
Jackson (2-2, 5.00 ERA) certainly did his thing while winning for the second time since joining the Padres as upon his release from the Marlins in early June.
The first was an unlikely no-hit bid that Jackson took into the seventh inning here. On Wednesday, he retired the first 11 batters before Ryan Braun dribbled a ball up the middle for an infield single in the fourth inning.
Jackson, though, stranded Braun with a strikeout of Hernan Perez, shook off Kirk Nieuwenhuis' one-out double in the fifth and escaped back-to-back one-out singles in the seventh by fetching a pop-out and a groundball with his pitch count still at a comfy 89 pitches.
Given a lead that grew to 11-0 a half-inning later, the leash was plenty long when the Brewers finally broke through in the eighth on Scooter Gennett's run-scoring single and Braun's two-run homer.
Jackson exited after throwing 74 of his 108 pitches for strikes. It was the fourth time in his career that he had completed eight innings without issuing a walk.
"He was in the zone, for me," Green said. "If he stays away from walking people, there's not that many times in his career that he's gotten consistently hit. He just has a tendency to get himself in a jam with a walk or two. He was in the zone from the first pitch and stayed there through the eighth inning.
"He was outstanding."
