SD 9, CIN 7: Matt Kemp and Yonder Alonso go beast mode

Did somebody call in some run support for Andrew Cashner? Because this is what happens when you ask for run support. After the 6-3 dominance over the Reds last night, the Padres were looked to clinch the first series of the season against the Reds. And clinch they did.

Cashner took a bit of a beating last start against the Mets, going only 4.2 innings giving up 5 runs. Today, he didn't quite have his stuff either. After giving up three runs in the first, he totaled out at 7, all earned. He wasn't hitting his spots in more ways than one, walking 5. A starter with a so-called "inaccurate win-loss record" was asking for quite a lot today after putting the Padres deep in the hole.

In case you didn't watch the game and get confused by the gifs: The Reds think it's cute to completely steal San Diego's desert digital camo uniforms and slap their ugly logo on it. For the past decade I thought people collectively made fun of our jerseys; but apparently now it's a trend.

Anyway, the Friars were up to that challenge of supporting a shaky Cashner. The runs for the good guys started in the 4th with Matt Kemp finally hitting his second home run of the season.

An interview between Mudcat and Alonzo Powell before the game included Powell explaining that Kemp's a guy that's going to start giving you plenty of home runs by the end of the season, and when he does he's going to start hitting them often. Hopefully, with Kemp taking advantage of Great American Ball Park's homer-friendly field, this is a sign of good things to come.

"James Shields told me I needed to relax and start hitting the ball hard."

The Reds didn't stop piling it on though, coming back in the bottom of the inning with a Joey Votto triple and a Todd Frazier double, putting them up 6-1. But Kempy didn't like that one bit, so he smashed another into right field for a 2-run RBI double to knock in Derek Norris and Justin Upton. The Padres were back in the game, cutting the lead to 6-3.

After some hard-to-read balls hit to Will Venable earlier in the game, it was time for a Red to feel the pain.

Things stayed tense though, into the 6th with Kevin Quackenbush on the relief effort. A Jay Bruce RBI-single would put the Reds a peg up on the Pads, making things 7-3. Now, if you're a math whiz you can do a few minutes of number crunching and conclude that seven minus three is four. A grand slam is worth four runs, and in the 7th inning, Yonder Alonso came to the plate with the bases loaded. And you know what he did?

He hit a grand slam straight into the lap of a Reds fan.

Tie ballgame, folks.

I've got Yonder Alonso with 8 hits in 14 at-bats and 6 RBIs (4 on that swing) since returning from the DL on Tuesday. #Padres

— Corey Brock (@FollowThePadres) June 6, 2015

Next it was time to take the lead and run away with the game. Who better to do that than Matt Kemp? Top of the 8th with the bases loaded yet again, Matt swings at a two-out first pitch fastball into the glorious 5.5 hole, driving in Abraham Almonte (after getting on with a leadoff double) and Norris (again.) The Pads were now up 9-7 late in the game, and ready to bring in the Craig Kimbrel.

Here's my recap of the bottom of the ninth:

Friars win. Four-game winning streak achieved!

Source: FanGraphs

Alonso's slam acted like a cliff in today's win projection and Kemp shoved the Reds straight off.

Just like the Padres, I win (at recs.)