SAN DIEGO _ Eric Hosmer was among the last players to leave the Padres clubhouse late Saturday night.
After his team had beaten the San Francisco Giants, Hosmer laughed as he said, "If we'll win again, I'll stay out."
Of course, he knew then what the rest of us did not, that he had not just been getting a veteran rest but nursing a balky back and might also miss the game that was at that point about 15 hours away.
Hosmer did sit Sunday.
And the Padres won again.
The Padres, in fact, trounced the Giants 10-1 in the finale of the teams' four-game series at Petco Park.
At least in the immediate sense, that is a significant positive _ that a team down two of its best bats, in Wil Myers and Hosmer, won its second straight series and stretched a win streak to a season-high three games.
This one came with big contributions from what has so far been arguably the best rookie pitcher in the majors and most productive rookie hitter in the majors.
Joey Lucchesi struck out nine and allowed one run in six innings to earn his second win in a row. His 25 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings are most by any rookie this season, and his 1.66 ERA is lowest in the majors among all pitchers who have thrown at least 15 innings.
After his third-inning double drove in two runs to give the Padres a 2-1 lead, Christian Villanueva's home run on the first pitch of the bottom half of the fourth pushed the lead to 5-1. It was his fifth home run, most among rookies. His .756 slugging percentage is tops among all players with at least 40 plate appearances.
The pair of youngsters led arguably the best all-around performance of the young season, as they notched their season high in runs and three pitchers minimized seven hits.
Jose Pirela went 3-for-5 with a single, double and triple and has five hits in 10 at-bats hitting in the leadoff spot the past two games. Rookie Franchy Cordero had two singles, including one on the seventh pitch he saw in the sixth inning. Freddy Galvis walked three times for the first time in his career, drove in a run with a single and upped his team-leading on-base percentage to .435.
Not bad for a game watched by the team's only two position players who have played in an All-Star game and, of course, the owners of the two largest contracts in team history.
Hosmer, who played 162 games last season, appeared to be moving relatively unfettered Sunday. Manager Andy Green said Hosmer would have played had this been later in the season, essentially meaning his being held out with more than 140 games remaining was precautionary. Green said Hosmer, who is hitting .309/.377/.491 in the past 14 games, is "day to day," according to Green.
Myers has been on the disabled list since leaving in the ninth inning on April 2. He had three hits in his previous five at-bats before being unable to continue due to what was later diagnosed as nerve irritation in his right arm. Myers took on-field batting practice for the first time prior to Sunday's game and declared, "Everything is 100 percent." He is expected to start a brief rehab assignment as early as Monday.
The Padres are 2-0 without Hosmer, 7-6 without Myers.
That is certainly an anomaly. The Padres don't want to be without their two marquee veterans for long.
But especially in this season of discovery, they will enjoy the development and production from the young players, as they seek to discern whether they will be part of the future.
