Shipley isn't ship-shape, Padres take advantage to beat D-backs
SAN DIEGO -- Arizona's Braden Shipley knew he didn't have it as Monday night's game wore on. He was right as the Diamondbacks lost 3-2 to the San Diego Padres.
"Later in the game I was falling behind, working deep in counts, and it drove my pitch count up," he said. "Everything felt a little off."
Padres starter Clayton Richard was the opposite, sharp for six-plus innings, and Wil Myers homered as San Diego snapped a three-game losing streak.
Shipley (4-4), who had won three of his last four starts, was gone after four innings. Shipley surrendered three runs -- two earned -- and six hits with three strikeouts.
The win in the matchup of the NL West's worst teams elevated the Padres into a fourth-place tie with Arizona.
"He just started to fall behind guys," Arizona manager Chip Hale said of Shipley. "Even when he got ahead he would fall back behind and put them in hitter's counts.
Richard (3-3) won his third straight decision, charged with two runs and six hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Brandon Maurer pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances.
Richard, in his second stint with the Padres, has resurrected his career as a starter. Used mostly by the Chicago Cubs as a reliever the last two years, Richard has allowed two runs or less in six of his seven starts with the Padres.
San Diego acquired Richard on waivers on Aug. 6 and he's become the team's most consistent starter.
Richard wasn't in trouble until the seventh when Kyle Jensen's triple scored Yasmany Tomas. Philip Gosselin drove in Jensen with an infield hit when Richard was late covering first base on a grounder to the right side.
Brad Hand relieved Richard and induced pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks to hit into an inning-ending double play.
The Padres scored three times in the fourth inning.
Myers' solo blast started the rally, coming on an elevated outside 93 mph fastball. He went the opposite way over the fence in right field for his 26th homer of the season and a franchise-record 16th at Petco Park.
Alexi Amarista, who had two hits, followed with a two-run single to left, pushing the Padres ahead 3-0. It came after Derek Norris' liner ricocheted off shortstop Chris Owings' glove for an error.
"I just wanted to pitch as long as I could and give the team a chance to win," Shipley said. "I was battling there at the end and kept on making pitches. But they did a good job of getting base hits and keeping that inning going.
"I just really didn't feel like I had the command that I normally do, especially with my offspeed stuff. These guys are good hitters and if you don't have your best stuff that day you're going to get hurt."
Padres general manager A.J. Preller started his 30-day suspension for breaking Major League Baseball's protocol for medical record-keeping on Monday.
Diamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock (strained groin) ran for the first time since getting hurt on Sept. 9.
Padres: OF Jabari Blash (sprained finger), who has been out since Aug. 19, could rejoin the team at the end of the week.
Diamondbacks: RHP Archie Bradley (7-9, 5.07) has produced three quality starts in his last five outings, going 3-1 with a 5.19 ERA. He has split his two decisions in three starts against the Padres.
Padres: RHP Paul Clemens (3-5, 4.94) has dropped three of his last four starts, but the win came in his last one. He threw five innings of scoreless ball when the Padres blanked the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 12.
