NEW YORK _ The Padres sustained a pair of injuries up the middle Wednesday at Citi Field. Then they doled out some damage of their own, using various parts of their field. Finally, they narrowly avoided what would have been a painful loss.
In a 6-5 victory over the New York Mets, Yangervis Solarte, Wil Myers and Hunter Renfroe delivered critical blows, fueling the Padres' rally from a 5-1 deficit. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Brad Hand extricated himself from a bases-loaded, no-out jam to retire each of the next three batters.
A trio of key hits did not go to waste.
Solarte, who singled to drive in the game's first run, lined a two-run double to center in the fifth, slicing the deficit to two.
Myers just missed a home run in the seventh, settling for a single off the top of the fence in right-center. Two runs scored, tying the game.
And in the eighth, Renfroe left no doubt with a 440-foot, tie-breaking homer to the second deck in left. The Padres' Nos. 2, 3 and 5 hitters had driven in all of their runs.
The earlier portions of the game had not gone so well.
Right-hander Jarred Cosart's fifth pitch of the night collided with Michael Conforto's bat. A comebacker pegged Cosart in the right ankle. He immediately doubled over in clear discomfort.
In the middle of the third inning, Matt Szczur, not Manuel Margot, jogged out of the visiting dugout at Citi Field. Margot, the Padres' starting center fielder, had exited the game because of tightness in his lower right leg.
Cosart had remained in the game, but his stay did not last long. Shortly after Margot's departure, he was lifted after his 38th pitch in the bottom of the third. The Mets had taken a 4-1 lead after a three-run double and an RBI single.
In all, Cosart threw 74 pitches over 22/3 innings. After an encouraging return from the disabled list last week, the abbreviated outing represented a step back.
Renfroe, meanwhile, has made noticeable progress this month. Wednesday's home run was his fourth in May, to go along with seven doubles and 11 walks.
In the bottom of the eighth, the right fielder committed a potentially costly fielding error, allowing Juan Lagares to reach second with no outs. Brandon Maurer, who had opened the season as the Padres' closer, retired the next three batters to preserve the lead.
Hand, who has emerged as a coveted trade piece, got the ball in the bottom of the ninth. The Mets singled, walked and singled, loading the bases. Hand struck out the next two batters and got another to fly out, sealing his third career save.
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