WASHINGTON _ The Padres' players and coaches have steadfastly maintained that they talk about the streak only when prompted. The occasion arose once again Sunday at Nationals Park.
Trailing by two in the eighth, Padres' Alex Dickerson crushed a leadoff home run into the Nationals' bullpen in right field. The next batter, Ryan Schimpf, smacked a drive way over the wall in left-center. The score was tied. The Padres had extended their franchise-record streak of homering at least once to 22 games.
In a 10-6, come-from-behind victory, the continuation of the streak set up the decisive blow. In the top of the ninth, Yangervis Solarte untied the score with an RBI single, two more singles followed, and Alexei Ramirez piled on with a bases-clearing double. The Padres celebrated a successful conclusion of the series' rubber match.
"I think everyone came through," Ramirez said through an interpreter. "The eighth inning was just as important as the ninth, tying it."
The last torrent of offense had not required any fence-clearing swats. The Padres' home-run march is now tied for the longest in the majors this season _ the Red Sox forged a 22-game streak in May _ but they are just 10-12 over their last 22 contests.
A pitching staff thinned by injuries and trades often has counteracted the run production. Over Sunday's first few innings, that trend continued.
With the temperature sizzling near triple digits, Christian Friedrich wilted in the top of the third. He would not pitch another inning. Following the left-hander's departure, the Padres blew a prime opportunity to make up ground.
Down 5-3 in the fourth, they had gotten a double from Dickerson, then a run-scoring single from Schimpf. Ramirez walked, Derek Norris did the same, and the Padres faced a bases-loaded, one-out scenario. Nationals starter Lucas Giolito, perhaps the best pitching prospect in baseball, made his own early exit.
The worst case ensued. Despite the fact that second base was occupied, Norris was caught drifting off first and tagged out.
"It's no small thing, and honestly it's borderline embarrassing when things like that happen on the baseball field," Padres manager Andy Green said. "And not on (Norris) or on any person in particular, but we're better than that, and that's unacceptable."
Adam Rosales, pinch-hitting for Friedrich, struck out. The deficit remained at two.
An inning earlier, the Padres showed far better awareness. Ramirez reached on an error. Norris singled. Leadoff man Travis Jankowski drew a two-out walk. Wil Myers ripped a two-run single and was cut off as he tried to reach second. But on the throw to the bag, the speedy Jankowski alertly charged for home. The relay to the plate did not come in time.
Jankowski's run gave the Padres a 3-1 lead. Friedrich held it for only moments. In the bottom of the third, Wilson Ramos was not fooled by a 2-0 change-up. The Nationals catcher launched a 455-foot, three-run homer to left field.
Friedrich, who allowed six hits and didn't record a strikeout, finished with his shortest outing of the season.
"A lot of times he's got some hop life on his fastball where he's got some good angle in on right-handed hitters, and it just didn't seem like he had anything on his fastball really at all today," Green said. "His velo was down a little bit. Just didn't seem like he had a feel for much of anything today, and that's just one of those days where you chalk it up to that's what's going on. Nice to see his teammates pick him up today."
Dickerson and Schimpf did that in a big way. Both rookies notched three hits. Their consecutive blasts in the eighth tied the game at 6. It also mirrored their time together earlier this season with Triple-A El Paso, when Dickerson led Triple-A in batting average and Schimpf was tops in slugging percentage.
"(Dickerson's) a great hitter," Schimpf said. "It was good to see him really spark it up, and obviously, I wasn't up there trying to hit a homer. It just so happened that I got a good pitch to drive out of there."
Dickerson's three hits were a career high, while Schimpf's home run was his ninth of July, setting a new Padres rookie record for a calendar month.
"They're not Triple-A guys anymore," Green said. "They're big-leaguers, they've been playing like it, they've been having a huge impact on our club for a long time now, and it's a credit to them."
The team's next series will be against the same team that never gave Schimpf a major league opportunity; before signing a minor league deal with San Diego, the infielder spent seven seasons in the Blue Jays organization.
"I know he wants to show what he can do on the field in Toronto," Green said. "I think everybody would be the same way. It's no added pressure for him, but I'm sure it's a little added incentive to get out there and 'Hey, this is what you had, and this is what I have.' "
Carlos Villanueva took the mound for the Padres in the fourth. The veteran reliever, who had been hit hard of late, limited Washington to one run over three innings. Matt Thornton, Ryan Buchter and Brandon Maurer each followed with a scoreless frame.
"It was a borderline dominant effort from (the bullpen), which was great to see," Green said. "Almost everybody had a significant contribution today, and it was a fun game."
