D-backs' Ray fans 13 in dominant one-hitter of Padres
SAN DIEGO -- Robbie Ray had life on his fastball and feel for his slider in the bullpen before the game and figured he was in for a fun one.
"I knew it was going to be a good day," Ray said.
Ray struck out a career-high 13 and gave up just one hit in seven innings, pitching the Arizona Diamondbacks past the San Diego Padres 2-1 on Saturday night.
"He was letting it fly with better location," Arizona manager Chip Hale said.
There were no hits in the game until the fifth. Arizona finished with four, and the Padres got three.
Ray (7-11) overpowered the Padres until the fifth, when Patrick Kivlehan, called up from Triple-A El Paso before the game, launched a 451-foot home run for his first major league hit.
"One pitch with two strikes he left over the plate," Hale said. "Other than that he was outstanding."
Arizona used four relievers to close it out. Daniel Hudson induced three infield popups to escape a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth and Enrique Burgos earned his first save of the season.
"I'm just getting more confident in my stuff," said Ray, who has allowed three runs (two earned) and 12 hits in his last three starts. "I'm just trying to get better every time out."
Ray threw 22 strikes in his first 26 pitches.
"It was all about fastball command," he said. "It was mostly fastballs I was throwing and it was just the movement on both sides of the plate."
As the game progressed, the Padres were set up to flail away at Ray's deceptive slider.
"That kept them off my fastball," he said.
The Diamondbacks scored two unearned runs, helped by a pair of throwing errors by pitcher Clayton Richard (0-3).
Richard gave up two hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked three but was done in by the errant throws. He's had a history of trouble throwing to bases.
"Unfortunately not fielding my position cost us," Richard said. "That definitely stings because you play to win, and to have a couple fielding plays cost you the game, that's really tough."
The Padres got little help in trying to touch Ray.
It was 1-all in the sixth when Phil Gosselin singled and Paul Goldschmidt walked. Rickie Weeks Jr. hit a grounder to Richard, who wheeled and threw the ball into center field, allowing a run to score.
In the Arizona fifth, Welington Castillo singled and Mitch Haniger hit a comebacker that Richard also threw into center. Brandon Drury then grounded into a double play, with Castillo scoring for a 1-0 lead.
Kivlehan had two of the Padres' hits.
"Regardless of the outcome of the game, that's a pretty sweet moment," Green said of Kivlehan going deep. "Guy's dreamt about doing that his whole life and he hits one 450 in the big leagues. That's really special for him."
Diamondbacks: SS Nick Ahmed will undergo season-ending hip surgery next week. He should be fit for spring training.
Padres: RHP Tyson Ross (shoulder) threw a simulated game. Ross, who hasn't pitched since opening day, could be sent out on a rehab assignment next week.
Diamondbacks: RHP Braden Shipley (2-2, 4.85) is facing the Padres for the first time in his sixth career start. Shipley had a rocky outing his last time out on Tuesday, surrendering seven runs (six earned) over five innings to the New York Mets.
Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo (5-7, 6.68) tries to snap a three-game losing skid, although he pitched well against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Two of his wins have come against Arizona, including one in relief.
