SAN DIEGO _ A hallmark of the 2017 Padres has been their shortcoming in the most fundamental of departments. The rebuilding club entered Wednesday with a .293 on-base percentage, the lowest in the majors.
In a 7-4 victory over Atlanta, a matchup with Bartolo Colon provided a temporary panacea. The Padres accomplished plenty against the Braves starter before surviving a sixth-inning charge by the visitors.
Eleven of San Diego's 23 plate appearances against Colon resulted in a runner getting on base. In that span, four players reached multiple times.
The tone was set in the bottom of the first. Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe drew a pair of walks. With two outs, Cory Spangenberg dumped an opposite-field double in the left-field corner, scoring Margot and Renfroe.
In the bottom of the third, Margot led off with a single, his first hit since Tuesday's return from the disabled list. He then stole second, stole third and scored on an infield single by Wil Myers. Carlos Asuaje's two-out single later in the inning pushed the Padres' lead to 4-0.
San Diego dealt Colon more two-out damage in the fourth, with Hunter Renfroe's first career triple driving in two more runs.
With Colon out of the game in the fifth, Asuaje singled for a third time, setting a career high in hits.
Padres right-hander Luis Perdomo took a shutout bid into the sixth. It ended there, when former Padres outfielder Matt Kemp directed a two-run single up the middle.
On in relief, rookie Phil Maton hit a batter with the bases loaded and allowed a fielder's choice. He ended the inning with a strikeout.
Perdomo was tagged with four runs over 5 1/3 innings. He yielded seven hits and two walks, striking out four.
In the seventh, the Padres scored an insurance run on a fielder's choice.
The home team finished with five walks and a dozen hits, three apiece by Asuaje and Erick Aybar.
Padres relievers Ryan Buchter, Brad Hand and Brandon Maurer each threw a perfect inning of relief, sealing the victory.
