ST. LOUIS _ Richard, a veteran adept at inducing ground balls, could not keep his opponent from taking flight. St. Louis cleared the outfield fences three times against the left-hander, who tied a career high for home runs allowed in a start.
But as the Padres themselves can attest, simply being able to hit the ball a long way does not make you a successful team. They did that and much more Tuesday, battering the Cardinals in a 12-4 victory at Busch Stadium.
Homers by Jedd Gyorko, Stephen Piscotty and Yadier Molina produced four runs for St. Louis. A pair of doubles by Yangervis Solarte drove in the same amount for the Padres. The infielder homered to make a lopsided score even more so. He finished 3-for-5 with six RBIs, a new career high.
San Diego sent nine batters to the plate in a decisive seventh inning. Six reached base, including catcher Austin Hedges, who crushed a three-run shot for the Padres' 10th hit of the night. It was their first homer of the game.
The Padres had entered eighth in the National League in home runs, but last in runs scored. On a pleasant evening, they addressed the latter category, reaching double digits in a nine-inning game for the first time since April 29.
Solarte opened the offensive with a bases-clearing double in the third.
Richard relinquished the lead in the fourth. With two outs, Molina doubled. Gyorko mashed his seventh home run in eight games against his former team. Stephen Piscotty made it back-to-back homers, tying the score.
Manuel Margot started the fifth with a single, later scoring on a two-out double by Solarte.
In the bottom of the sixth, Richard got to an 0-2 count against Molina. Then he hung a slider. Molina cranked the Cardinals' second game-tying homer. With Gyorko on deck, manager Andy Green immediately lifted Richard in favor of Craig Stammen. The reliever got Gyorko to ground out.
With starter Lance Lynn done after six innings, the Cardinals bullpen imploded. Margot led off the seventh with a walk and scored his third run on Jose Pirela's single. Matt Szczur notched a two-run, pinch-hit single. Hedges hit his homer, stamping a six-run lead as fans streamed toward the exits.
Solarte piled on with a two-run homer in the eighth.
His six RBIs established a season high for a San Diego player. The Padres finished 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Their dozen runs matched their top output of the season.
