|
PHOENIX (AP) -San Diego's celebration was delayed when
Livan Hernandez
pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning and
Eric Byrnes
homered in a 3-1 victory by the
Arizona Diamondbacks
on Friday night that prevented the Padres from clinching a playoff berth.
San Diego would clinch no worse than the wild-card spot with one more victory or a loss by Philadelphia, which routed Florida
14-2. The Padres entered with a one-game NL West lead over Los Angeles, which played at San Francisco later Friday.
Hernandez (13-13) took a two-hit shutout - and a 2-0 lead - into the seventh before pinch-hitter
Ryan Klesko
singled in a run. With runners at the corners,
Dave Roberts
hit an inning-ending popup.
Carlos Quentin
made it 3-1 in the eighth with an RBI double off
Jon Adkins
, Quentin's second double of the night.
Hernandez had his finest performance since the Diamondbacks acquired him from Washington on Aug. 7. He gave up one run, four
hits and three walks in seven innings, striking out four and improving to 9-2 against the Padres.
Doug Slaten
and
Luis Vizcaino
pitched the eighth, and
Jose Valverde
completed the four-hitter with perfect ninth for his 18th save.
Arizona took a 2-0 lead in the third when
Craig Counsell
drew a two-out walk and Byrnes hit a 1-1 pitch from
Clay Hensley
(11-12) into the left field seats for his team-high 26th homer. Hensley allowed two runs and four hits in six innings.
Notes: A crowd of 30,700 raised Arizona's home total to 2,009,720. The Diamondbacks need to draw 49,022 to their last two
games to avoid the lowest home attendance in their nine-year history. ...
Luis Gonzalez
played in his 1,192d game for Arizona, extending his club record. He's expected to be in the lineup for the last two games
of the season. The Diamondbacks have said they won't re-sign him. ... San Diego is 23-51 at Arizona.
|