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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Despite some strong outings, wins have been
tough to come by for San Diego Padres rookie Adam Eaton.
Eaton, who left six starts with the lead this year only to end
up with no-decisions, departed with an 8-2 advantage after seven
innings Sunday.
His bullpen was shaky again, giving up four runs in the eighth
inning before Trevor Hoffman closed out an 8-6 victory over the
Chicago Cubs, the Padres' seventh in eight games.
Eaton's luck was typified when Jose Nieves' potential
double-play grounder turned into an RBI single when it hit the
second-base bag and bounced straight up in the eighth.
"After that one hit, it was 8-5, and I went, 'Geez, that's a
strange thing to have happen," Eaton said. "(Shortstop Damian
Jackson) is right there for a double play, but it hits the bag.
It's just bad luck."
Eaton (3-2), who gave up seven hits and one walk and struck out
three, has won twice in his last four starts after going 0-1 in his
previous eight. In that time, he's learned to avoid being nervous
on the bench while watching relievers, no matter the circumstances.
"When I do a good job, I feel happy about that. And I have
confidence that the guys in the bullpen will do their job," Eaton
said. "I'm pretty calm. I do want to win, so there's just that
anxiety."
Hoffman got three outs for his 29th save in 35 chances.
Mark Grace went 5-for-5 with his 11th homer, two doubles, two
RBI and three runs scored for Chicago.
"That was my first 5-for-5 day. That's kind of strange, isn't
it?" said Grace, in his 13th major league season. "It's good to
enjoy this. This is probably one of my best games ever."
Daniel Garibay (2-4), making his second career start, allowed
five runs and nine hits in five innings.
"We needed some help, so we tried to get a starting opportunity
for Daniel," Chicago manager Don Baylor said. "But he just didn't
have any rhythm."
Wiki Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with two RBI for San Diego, and Mike
Darr had a pair of run-scoring doubles.
After Sammy Sosa led off with a walk, Grace doubled him home
against Todd Erdos in the eighth. Jeff Reed and Jose Nieves had
run-scoring singles off Heathcliff Slocumb and Brant Brown added a
sacrifice fly, cutting it to 8-6.
"Sure, right then you're thinking, `Boy, Eaton pitched his
heart out, he had a six-run lead, and now it's getting close
again,' " Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "With a couple of
innings to go, you'd like to think that you can hold that. But we
had an eight-run lead slip away quickly last week."
Eaton was also the starter when the Padres blew a 9-1 lead
before edging Philadelphia 10-9 in 10 innings on Tuesday.
"Who would have expected the ball to hit the bag?" Jackson
said. "It was one of those breaks. But fortunately we battled
through it and got the win."
Matthews' RBI grounder put Chicago ahead in the second, but San
Diego took a 2-1 lead in the bottom half on Gonzalez's RBI infield
single and Darr's first double. Darr had another double in the
fourth to make it 3-1.
Phil Nevin's sacrifice fly and Gonzalez's RBI single increased
the lead to 5-1 in the fifth.
Grace homered leading off the sixth, but the Padres made it 8-2
in the bottom half against Kyle Farnsworth on Ryan Klesko's two-run
single and Nevin's RBI single.
Game
notes
Chicago C Joe Girardi broke his nose and took three
stitches to close a cut after being hit by Woody Williams' pitch in
the ninth inning Saturday. Girardi is expected to be sidelined 2-3
days. ... The Cubs placed RHP Kerry Wood on the 15-day disabled
list, retroactive to July 30, because of a muscle strain, and
activated OF Rondell White, obtained from Montreal on July 31.
White was out with a strained right hamstring. ... The Padres have
won six of their last seven games against left-handers. Before
that, they were 10-20 this season against lefties. ... Eaton
entered with a team-high .368 batting average (7-for-19), but went
0-for-2 with a walk.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Chicago Cubs Clubhouse
San Diego Clubhouse
One down, one up: Cubs place Wood on DL, take White off it
RECAPS
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