Kim, Myers lead Padres’ hit barrage in 11-6 win over Braves
Atlanta Braves third base coach Ron Washington reacts after a three-run home run by Dansby Swanson in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, May 13, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
ATLANTA (AP) — Ha-Seong Kim hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning off reliever Will Smith, Wil Myers went deep in the sixth against Max Fried and the San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 11-6 on Friday night.
Kim homered for the fourth time after Eric Hosmer and Myers singled against Smith (0-1) to make it 7-6. Myers added a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 8-6. His 421-foot solo shot to center in the sixth gave San Diego a 4-2 lead.
“I opened up my stance a little bit in that at-bat just to get a little more visual,” Myers said. “I was able to get some good rhythm and good timing and was able to put a good swing on it.”
Kim, Hosmer and Myers each had three hits as San Diego tied a season high with 16 of them.
Trent Grisham’s three-run, pinch-hit double in the ninth padded the lead to 11-6.
“You can’t say enough about how Hosmer and (Manny) Machado have been up to this point,” acting manager Ryan Christenson said. “Hosmer went out there and continued to do it today. The fact that we were able to get 16 hits and score 11 runs sends a lot of guys back to the hotel feeling good about themselves.”
The Braves erased a two-run deficit with a four-run sixth, plating four runs with two outs — the first coming after Ozzie Albies doubled and scored when Myers charged in from right field and dropped Adam Duvall’s short fly.
Myers wasn’t charged with an error, and a single by William Contreras chased Padres starter Yu Darvish, setting the stage for Dansby Swanson’s third homer of the season, a 436-foot shot off Robert Suárez that landed in the seats in left-center and gave the Braves a 6-4 lead.
Darvish loved watching the offense open up after it has largely struggled through the early season.
“That’s what they’re capable of — great energy — and then you win a game like this and the clubhouse is celebrating,” Darvish said through a translator. “It was a really good win for us.”
Fried began the game with 42 victories since he became a full-time starter in 2019, most in the NL over that span. The lefty gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings. Darvish allowed five runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
The defending World Series champion Braves fell to 3-18 when opponents score first. Contreras’ fourth homer, a solo shot to center that traveled 417 feet, made it 1-all in the third.
Atlanta dropped to 15-18. The Padres improved to 21-12.
Taylor Rogers recorded the last four outs for his 13th save in 14 chances this year. Luis Garcia (1-2) pitched a scoreless seventh.
The Braves trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the fifth on Swanson’s RBI single.
Hosmer’s two-run single put the Padres up 3-1 in the top of the fifth. San Diego led 1-0 in the third José Azócar’s sacrifice fly.
BIG-TIME THROW
Profar threw out Travis Demeritte at the plate to end the first as Demeritte tried to score from second. Profar, who picked up Marcell Ozuna’s single and threw a one-hopper to Nola, padding his assist total to six, most in the majors among left fielders.
GOING STRONG
Hosmer went 3 for 5 to raise his average 10 points to .377, best in the majors. Hosmer trailed only Machado in batting average before the game. Machado went 0 for 4. … Demeritte batted leadoff and went 3 for 3, reaching five times to raise his average 43 points to .314.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: With third base coach Matt Williams in COVID-19 protocols, first base coach David Macias moved over to third and batting practice-hitting instructor Morgan Burkhart took over at first. Quality control coach Ryan Flaherty took over as bench coach. Christenson is acting manager while Bob Melvin recovers from prostate surgery. The Padres said Friday that Melvin’s operation did not find any traces of cancer.
Braves: RF Ronald Acuña Jr. missed his second straight game with a sore groin. Manager Brian Snitker said Acuña is day-to-day and will likely return to the lineup on Saturday.
UP NEXT
San Diego will send LHP Sean Manaea (2-3, 3.75 ERA) out for his seventh start as the teams play the second game of a three-game series on Saturday. The Braves will counter with RHP Charlie Morton (2-3, 5.65), who will make his seventh start.
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