Houston, TX - Mike Cameron, Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff each hit two-run home runs and had three RBI as San Diego scored 11 runs in the first inning and outlasted Houston, 18-11, in the finale of a four-game set at Minute Maid Park.
Brian Giles, Milton Bradley, Josh Bard and starting pitcher Tim Stauffer each knocked in a pair of runs as the Padres battered Houston starter Jason Jennings (2-7) for 11 runs on eight hits and three walks in just two-thirds of inning.
Stauffer, starting in place of injured All-Star Chris Young, lasted just 3 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. The right-hander gave up seven runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Doug Brocail (3-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win for San Diego, which won for just the third time in its last 10 games.
Eric Munson, Lance Berkman, Luke Scott and Chris Burke each homered for the Astros, who had won four of five.
Jennings walked both Giles and Cameron to start the game before Bradley’s ground-rule double brought home San Diego’s first run. Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly plated Cameron and singles by Khalil Greene and Bard made it 3-0.
Jennings retired Kouzmanoff for the second out of the inning but then walked Geoff Blum to load the bases for his counterpart Stauffer, who hit a single into left field that chased two runs home. Giles followed with a two- run double before Cameron connected on his 14th home run of the season to make it 9-0.
Bradley followed with his second base-hit of the inning before Gonzalez went deep to make it 11-0. Houston manager Phil Garner mercifully ended Jennings’ outing. Mark McLemore, recalled from Triple-A Round Rock before the game, took over for Jennings and walked Greene before getting Bard to ground into a force out to end the inning.
Cameron’s two-out RBI double in the second made it 12-0 before the Astros responded. Munson’s homer in the third got Houston on the board and the Astros put up a seven-spot in the fourth inning to make it a game.
Berkman followed Mark Loretta’s leadoff walk with his 16th home run of the season and two outs later, Scott went deep to make it 12-4. Stauffer walked the next two batters and Orlando Palmeiro’s pinch-hit single brought in another run.
That was all for Stauffer, but Burke sent Clay Hensley’s first pitch over the left field wall for a three-run shot that made brought Houston within 12-8.
San Diego answered with three runs in the fifth. Cameron led off with a double before scoring on Bradley’s single. The Padres then loaded the bases and Astros pitcher Dave Borkowski’s errant throw home on Bard’s groundball allowed Bradley to score. Kouzmanoff’s subsequent groundout was enough to plate Gonzalez for a 15-8 San Diego advantage.
The Astros answered right back with three runs in the home half of the fifth on three straight RBI singles by Scott, Jason Lane and Munson.
Houston had the bases loaded in the seventh, but Cla Meredith struck out Burke to end the inning and San Diego put up three insurance runs in the ninth. Gonzalez doubled and scored on Bard’s double one-out later. Kouzmanoff followed with his 11th homer of the season to complete the scoring.
Game Notes
Before the game, the Astros designated struggling third baseman Morgan Ensberg for assignment. The former All-Star was hitting .232 with eight homers and 31 RBI this season..The last time San Diego scored 18 was in an August 23, 2002 game against Florida. Twenty runs is the most the Padres have scored in franchise history…Besides runs in a game and an inning, San Diego set another season- high with 19 hits.
