Padres 8, Marlins 3: Villanueva lands a big one

After a rough series opener, the Padres won three in a row and have now gone over .500 for the month of May. A lot of the credit for that can go to Christian Villanueva, who started his evening with his 15th home run of the season. The only National Leaguer with more bombs is some guy in DC named Bryce Harper. The whole top of the lineup was on fire tonight, as Eric Hosmer, Jose Pirela, and Hunter Renfroe joined Villanueva with multi-hit games. But we can’t forget the man on the mound, as Jordan Lyles held the Marlins to two runs over seven innings.

The Friars got on the board first, thanks to Pirela and Villanueva. That first lead didn’t hold, as Lyles gave up his only two runs in the second on a trio of singles. He never had to sweat though, as the good guys picked up two more off the fish in the bottom half of the second. A.J. Ellis started a rally with a single. Lyles and Pirela kept it going with a pair of two-out walks to load the bases. That set up Hosmer for a two RBI single into center.

That fourth run ended up being the difference maker, but the Padres hung a crooked number in the fifth to add a little insurance. Hosmer led off the inning with a walk, and Villanueva put him in scoring position with a single. Renfroe brought in the first run of the inning by doubling to left, plating Hosmer and putting Villanueva on third. Freddy Galvis was intentionally walked to load the bases and bring Ellis to the plate with one out. The Marlins might have turned the double play to end the inning if Starlin Castro hadn’t blown the catch, allowing everybody to advance safely. A chopper from Manny Margot scored Renfroe, and the Friars were up 7-2.

Kirby Yates gave up his first home run of the season in the eighth, a solo shot by Derek Dietrich. It didn’t really matter, but the Pads answered back anyway. Pirela led off the bottom half of the frame with a double, and Hosmer singled him home.

Phil Hughes had some trouble in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs, so Brad Hand got called in for the one-out save, striking out J.T. Realmuto on three pitches.

Walker Lockett is getting the call tomorrow, and he’ll try to keep up the winning streak as the last-place Reds come to town. First pitch at 7:10 PM.