PHOENIX _ An announced crowd of 14,110, the smallest in Chase Field history, filtered in here Tuesday to escape the oppressive summer heat and to witness a baseball game. To the delight of most of the gathering, the visiting team found little relief.
The San Diego Padres lost, 7-5, to the Arizona Diamondbacks, ensuring they will remain in last place for the time being. San Diego (36-48) can commiserate with Arizona (38-48), which has wilted after a flashy offseason.
Padres left-hander Christian Friedrich allowed five runs in as many innings. After posting a 2.12 ERA through his first six starts for San Diego, the minor league signee has surrendered 19 earned runs over 21 innings.
Four of those runs came in the bottom of the third, erasing the 2-0 lead the Padres had taken in the top half of the inning. Friedrich permitted three consecutive singles before Rickie Weeks Jr. pounced on a first-pitch change-up, blasting a three-run homer to left-center.
After Alex Dickerson tied the game at 4-4 with a fifth-inning double, the D-backs immediately retook the lead and pulled away from there.
Padres first baseman Wil Myers continued in his role as a bright spot. After being named to his first All-Star team earlier in the day, he singled, tripled and singled in his first three at-bats.
Myers' third-inning triple followed a leadoff walk by Friedrich. An RBI single from Yangervis Solarte scored Myers, giving the Padres' a 2-0 advantage.
Friedrich opened the bottom of the third by striking out opposing pitcher Zack Godley. The aforementioned hail of singles ensued.
The Padres' lefty, in fact, had trouble with the top of the D-backs order all night. Leadoff man Jean Segura and No. 2 hitter Michael Bourn each finished with three hits, including a triple apiece.
Padres reliever Carlos Villanueva kept the game close in the sixth, producing a scoreless frame, but the seventh proved less kind. A single and a pair of triples extended the D-backs lead to three.
Friedrich fell to 4-4 on the season and has lost three of his last four starts. He has given up at least one home run in each of those outings. Across his first six starts, he allowed only one homer.
Padres second baseman Ryan Schimpf led off the ninth with an opposite-field shot, becoming the first player to homer off D-backs closer Brad Ziegler this season. For Schimpf, who made his major league debut last month, it was his second career home run.
Alexei Ramirez singled after Schimpf's drive, and Myers later cracked a two-out single for his fourth hit, that tying a career-high. Both runners would be stranded as Matt Kemp struck out to end the game.
