PHOENIX _ Erick Aybar launched a home run. Starting pitcher Trevor Cahill drilled an RBI double. Hunter Renfroe unloaded on a hanging curveball.
In between those positives, there was plenty of disjointed play by the San Diego Padres Wednesday at Chase Field.
In the top of the ninth, there was the moment, the swing, they had been waiting for.
With one out and Padres on the corners, Ryan Schimpf came to the plate having managed one hit and 11 strikeouts in his last 28 at-bats. He was batting an even .100. The third baseman sat out Tuesday's game and had entered this one as part of a double-switch.
In an 8-5 comeback victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, Schimpf's three-run homer off former San Diego closer Fernando Rodney replaced a deficit with a lead. Yangervis Solarte added a two-run double and Brandon Maurer closed out the bottom of the ninth as the Padres ended a four-game losing streak. They will attempt to secure a series split on Thursday.
"He's fought so hard, it's been such a struggle," manager Andy Green said of Schimpf. "It was a matter of time. We kept saying it was one swing to get him going again."
Before Schimpf's moonshot to right boosted the Padres, what would have been a fifth consecutive defeat seemed quite possible.
Right-hander Trevor Cahill went 5 2/3 innings against his old team, striking out nine but also allowing five runs on nine hits and four walks. The Padres defense was porous, the foremost example a missed catch by Renfroe.
Arizona took a 1-0 lead in the first. In the third, eight D-backs batted against Cahill. By the time it was over, the score was 4-0.
"We didn't really control the running game (in the third). It's been kind of an Achilles heel for us against those guys," Green said. "Trevor was fighting command issues, but he's got such good stuff, he can wipe a guy out at any point in time. The punchouts played well for him."
The D-backs were fortunate or aided on at least a few of their hits. A comebacker deflected off Cahill, resulting in a run-scoring infield knock. A lazy fly ball plopped between defenders in shallow right for another RBI single.
In the bottom of the fourth, a drive flew to the warning track in right. Renfroe was in position, his glove outstretched. He failed to secure the out.
The play, initially ruled an error, was later changed to a double; upon review, the ball had hit the wall behind Renfroe before popping in and out of his glove. At any rate, a run scored, giving Arizona a 5-2 lead.
The Padres had executed a couple of surgical strikes in the top of the inning. Aybar sent a drive into the left-field seats. Not long after that, Cahill notched a rare extra-base hit, driving in a crucial run.
"I fell behind a little bit and walked more guys than I would've liked, but I feel like for the most part I was making decent pitches," said Cahill, who recorded more than eight strikeouts in a game for the first time since June 14, 2013. "They're a really good offensive club, and they were making me work. The offense picked me up tonight."
In the sixth, Renfroe atoned for his gaffe, hammering a 425-foot solo shot. The Padres trailed by two.
Two scoreless innings ensued. Rodney took the mound for the ninth. Aybar bunted for a one-out single. Pinch-hitter Hector Sanchez roped a single to left for his first hit of the season. Schimpf came to the plate, 6-for-60 on the season.
"He was struggling a little bit, but he's been very professional," Cahill said. "He's a guy that you root for to do well."
Schimpf watched strike one. The next pitch was a fastball, belt-high. Schimpf turned on it, sending a no-doubter out to right.
"It feels good, for sure," Schimpf said. "Glad it came (at) a time to help us win.
"You've just got to believe in yourself and keep working and realize that (a slump is) not going to last forever. Just keep on working hard and do what you've got to do to win ballgames, because that's all that matters."
