SAN DIEGO _ The Padres believed in Luis Urias when they believed he was better off rehabbing his swing and approach most of the summer at Triple-A El Paso. They believed in him throughout a slow start upon last month's return to the majors. They believe this is just the start for their 22-year-old second baseman.
Urias continued his resurgence with the go-ahead runs on a fourth-inning double, rookie Cal Quantrill fought back from a troublesome start and the Padres avoided a sweep to close the homestand with a 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park.
Sliding over to shortstop for the injured Fernando Tatis Jr., Urias walked in his first plate appearance and doubled in two runs to break a 2-2 team in the fourth to continue his rise since mashing his first home run of the season on July 29.
Months after his banishment to the Pacific Coast League, Urias has paired a .342/.468/.500 batting line with nine RBIs, nine runs scored and four extra-base hits over his last 13 games.
A three-run double on Tuesday gave the Padres a 4-1 lead that didn't last. Wednesday's go-ahead hit did.
The Padres hope Tatis � who left Tuesday's game with a lower back spasm � can return to the lineup Friday in Philadelphia.
Urias, who bounced between both middle infield spots while hitting .315/.398/.600 at El Paso, would continue to see time at shortstop should Tatis' back keep him from the field.
Urias also walked scored in the Padres' two-run second inning and drove in a third run when right-hander Jose De Leon hit him with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
First baseman Eric Hosmer hit his 18th homer, a solo shot off Jalen Beeks (5 IP, 5 ER), his first off a left-hander all season, and catcher Francisco Mejia reached via two walks and a single and scored three runs. Wil Myers added a run-scoring single in the eighth after striking out in his first three at-bats.
Quantrill won for the second time on the homestand, grinding through 108 pitches � his most in a game since his Tommy John surgery � to give the Padres 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball.
Only the first 12 pitches cost him.
Eric Sogard won an 11-pitch battle to lead off the game with a walk and Tommy Pham sent Quantrill's ensuing fastball on a 111 mph line off the third deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.
Quantrill retired 16 of 18 after that, scattering two singles despite the pesky Rays elevating his pitch-count to 100 pitches through five innings. He fetched a pop-up off Pham's bat to start the sixth and gave way to the Padres' bullpen, which closed the game with 3 2/3 scoreless frames.
Quantrill struck out four and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in 5 1/3 innings.
