Phoenix, AZ – Brandon McCarthy pitched seven innings to earn his first win in more than three months, as the Diamondbacks pulled away for a 6-1 triumph over the San Diego Padres.
Martin Prado drove in three runs and Paul Goldschmidt added a pair of RBI for Arizona, which opened its nine-game homestand with only its second win in six contests. They are six games behind Cincinnati for the National League's second wild card spot.
McCarthy (3-8) allowed five hits and one unearned run. The right-hander also had five strikeouts and didn't walk a batter over his 93-pitch performance. It was his first win since May 24 against San Diego. McCarthy had been 0-5 with an 8.59 ERA over his previous five starts.
"Getting ahead is a good sign. It's something I've struggled with in the last few weeks," McCarthy said. "Tonight I think was a good first step where I've felt normal again, getting good results."
Tyson Ross (3-7) was charged with seven hits and six runs -- four earned -- over six-plus innings.
"I thought he threw the ball well. They put the bat on the ball and some grounders found some holes. We just couldn't get any runs," Padres manager Bud Black said.
San Diego's only run in the opener of this three-game set came in the first inning when Will Venable scored on a Didi Gregorius throwing error.
The Diamondbacks went ahead in the fourth. Adam Eaton was hit by a pitch and Goldschmidt followed with a triple to the corner in right. Prado's sacrifice fly to right made it 2-1.
Prado's bases-loaded ground single to left plated two runs in the sixth for a 4-1 cushion.
Tony Campana and Goldschmidt hit into force plays that turned into turns in the seventh. Campana's hit to third should have resulted in a double play, but catcher Nick Hundley had his foot off the base and Gerardo Parra scored.
Game Notes
San Diego leads the season series, 8-5 ... Ross suffered his first road loss since June 30 at Miami ... Prior to the game, the Diamondbacks activated infielder Eric Chavez and catcher Miguel Montero from the 15-day disabled list, and optioned infielder Matt Davidson and catcher Tuffy Gosewish to Triple-A Reno ... The Padres selected the contract of outfielder Reymond Fuentes from Tucson, recalled pitcher Anthony Bass from Tucson, and optioned outfielder Jaff Decker and pitcher Brad Brach to the Triple-A club ... Arizona will start LHP David Holmberg on Tuesday, when he'll make his MLB debut.
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