Upton's homer-robbing catch highlights Padres' 11-7 loss
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles would have hit four home runs Tuesday night if not for Melvin Upton Jr.
Upton leaped and reached over the fence to rob J.J. Hardy of a two-run shot in the second inning, and then doubled off Mark Trumbo at first base.
"That one I thought was gone," manager Andy Green said after the Padres lost 11-7 to the Orioles, who got home runs from Adam Jones, Hyun Soo Kim and Chris Davis. "That one disappeared. I didn't realize he had caught it. It was a heck of a double play."
The Orioles lead the majors with 123 homers, including 54 in June.
Davis passed Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for sole possession of ninth place on the Orioles' career home run list with 180. He and Manny Machado had three hits apiece.
Kim drove in three runs, adding an RBI double in the seven-run sixth. Davis homered and doubled in the inning, and Jonathan Schoop had a two-run double and Machado hit a two-run single.
Jones, who went to San Diego's Morse High, hit an opposite-field homer to right, his 16th, on the second pitch from Erik Johnson. Kim also went to right field on his two-run homer in the fifth, his second. Davis drove reliever Carlos Villanueva's first pitch an estimated 417 feet to center leading off the sixth, his 19th.
Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7) beat the Padres in consecutive starts, holding them to one run and three hits in five innings, with five strikeouts and four walks. He won 7-2 against the Padres in Baltimore last Wednesday.
Upton had a big game for the Padres. He homered an estimated 444 feet off the batter's eye in straightaway center field leading off the bottom of the first and had two defensive gems. The first was robbing Hardy of the home run, and the second was a sliding catch of Kim's sinking liner in the third.
Upton called his catch "No. 1 for sure" in his career. "I've never really had an opportunity in center field. Honestly, that one I just kind of jumped for it. Kind of surprised it ended up in my glove. I knew I was close to it, but I mean, odds are you catch that are very slim, but I did it, so, cool."
Upton has played left field for the Padres this season. He moved over to center field after Jon Jay was put on the disabled list with a broken right forearm.
"It doesn't really matter," Upton said. "I've played there my whole career. Going back there wasn't much of a change."
Green said Upton played well in center.
"I don't think people realize, he didn't move to left field because he lost the ability to play center field," he said. "He moved to left field because we had two true center fielders out there. He's been a real asset in left field, so sliding back to center for him is not a stretch at ll. He's very, very comfortable out there. He's been doing it for forever."
San Diego's Wil Myers hit a three-run homer off Oliver Drake in the seventh, his 18th. It was his 11th this month, the most ever by a Padres player in June.
Johnson (0-4) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings, struck out two and walked none.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Padres: CF Jay went on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 20, with a broken right forearm. To take his place on the roster, infielder-outfielder Alex Dickerson was recalled from Triple-A El Paso.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Yovani Gallardo (2-1, 6.04) is scheduled to start the series finale Wednesday afternoon.
Padres: LHP Christian Friedrich (4-2, 3.60) is scheduled to make his ninth start of the season.
