NewsPadres' bats back impressive Correia
Friars rack up 16 hits; Blanks drives in three runs
By Daniel Paulling / MLB.com
06/28/09 12:16 AM ET
ARLINGTON -- Kyle Blanks thought back to the last time he faced Rangers starter Derek Holland to prepare for Saturday's game. It happened while the two were in Double-A -- Blanks with San Antonio and Holland with Frisco. |
Both cities are within a four-hour drive of where the two met again.
"He's got a few more pitches now," Blanks said. "His fastball is his best pitch. He's got good life on the ball, and I just got a good pitch and put a good swing on it. It's good to see it pay off." That payoff was an RBI double for Blanks on the first pitch he saw from Holland. It was the first RBI of Blanks' career, which has lasted all of seven games. It helped spur the Padres' 7-3 win over the Rangers in Arlington. The win broke a three-game losing streak and raised the Padres' record to 4-9 over their past 13 games. They are now 11-10 all-time against the Rangers. Holland set down the side in order in the first inning, but the Padres' offense began to catch up with his fastball after that. His first 20 pitches were fastballs. Adrian Gonzalez grounded out to lead off the second, but Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley followed with singles before Blanks' RBI double. Henry Blanco and Everth Cabrera followed with consecutive RBI singles. "We hit the ball well tonight," Kouzmanoff said. "He was working fastball, so why not look for it?" Holland's game plan was to keep throwing fastballs because he had never faced the Padres, at least at the Major League level. "They had never seen me before, so I was going right after them," he said. "The balls were just going through holes." Holland allowed another run in the fourth on a double by David Eckstein. Gonzalez grounded out to lead off the fifth inning, but Kouzmanoff followed with a single and Headley walked before Blanks' second double of the night. Both runners scored on the play. Eckstein added a RBI single the next inning. He is hitting .378 over his past 10 games. "It was a collective effort," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Contributions all around when you get 16 hits." That mark was a season high for the Padres. The Nos. 5, 6 and 7 hitters -- Kouzmanoff, Headley and Blanks -- provided much of the offense, combining to hit .571 (8-for-14) with a walk. The offense was something Black appreciated but knew could be fleeting due to the offense-inducing features of Rangers Ballpark. "In this park, you still gotta pitch," Black said. "There's runs in this park and in that lineup. You look at the names, I've seen it." Kevin Correia put together one of his best outings of the season in what he calls the hottest start of his career. Game-time temperature on Saturday was 100 degrees. "I knew coming in they had some guys who can hit the ball," he said. "I don't want to give them a free pass. If you're throwing three different pitches for strikes, I think it makes it harder on them." Black appreciates what Correia is providing the Padres as of late. "The last five starts, he's 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA," Black said, accurate in the numbers for his pitcher. " ... His walks were down, his strikes were up and his pitch count per inning was down. "What's great? He wanted to go back out. He's got the desire to go 110-115 [pitches]. I don't know when, but he will." Over his past five starts, Correia has struck out 29 hitters and walked three. Opponents are hitting just .155 against him over that stretch. Correia gave the Padres a much-needed outing. He threw seven innings on 95 pitches, two days after Wade LeBlanc lasted only 1 1/3 innings against the Mariners and one night after Walter Silva threw 2 1/3 against the Rangers. Correia faced the minimum in four innings and struck out a career-high nine batters. His previous best was eight, which he set on Aug. 10, 2005, against the Braves while with San Francisco. Saturday's outing was Correia's fifth consecutive quality start.Daniel Paulling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
