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Padres Press Clips Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Article Source Author Page Upton hits moonshot, but Padres fall in AZ MLB.com Bloom/Gilbert 2 Injuries to Shields, Norris not serious MLB.com Bloom 4 Murphy: Bullpen woes ‘frustrating’ MLB.com Bloom 6 Cashner faces Ray in series finale vs. D-backs MLB.com Bloom 8 Decker’s long journey reaches its goal Padres.com Center 9 Padres bullpen blows it in loss to D-backs UT San Diego Lin 12 Erlin to start Saturday in Colorado UT San Diego Lin 15 Friar talk: All downhill after the sixth UT San Diego Sanders 17 Pollock’s home run leads Diamondbacks over Padres 6-4 Associated Press AP 18 What if the 2012 young core was kept in place? Press Enterprise Glaser 20 Murphy hits the eject button for 5th time NBCSanDiego.com Rosehart 23 Josh Johnson, aiming for comeback, to have third Tommy John surgery CBSSports.com Heyman 25 Report: 3rd elbow surgery coming for JJ MLB.com Fordin 26

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Upton hits moonshot, but Padres fall in AZ By Barry M. Bloom and Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | September 15th, 2015 PHOENIX -- A three-run homer by A.J. Pollock keyed a five-run seventh-inning rally as the D-backs

beat the Padres, 6-4, on Tuesday night at Chase Field.

San Diego grabbed an early lead on Justin Upton's 26th homer of the season and led, 3-1, after Travis Jankowski delivered a two-out, run-scoring single in the seventh.

The D-backs offense, which had been held in check by starter Tyson Ross, finally came alive in the

seventh off the San Diego bullpen. Right-hander Bud Norrisopened the inning by walking Chris Owings, allowing a triple to Nick Ahmed and then walking pinch-hitter Aaron Hill. Padres manager Pat

Murphy brought in Kevin Quackenbush, who allowed Pollock's home run on his first pitch.

"Ross had nasty stuff tonight," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "As usual. He's got that slider guys just

don't see. The guys kept at it, the attitude was good on the bench, and the one thing I kept harping on

was you could see his pitch count was rising, and we knew at some point we would get him out of the

game."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

J-Up continues to unload on D-backs: As a Brave and now as a Padre, Upton has continued to

destroy his old team, which traded him before the 2013 season. Upton homered to open the second

inning, a prodigus 458-foot shot deep into the left field seats. It was his eighth homer against the D-backs

and fourth at Chase. Five of them have come this season as a member of the Padres.

"There's times when Justin looks like he's destined for the Hall of Fame, the way he swings," Padres

manager Pat Murphy said. "He's got great abilities. When he plays the way he played tonight you start

believing that, wow, this guy's a real super player. That ball he hit tonight, he crushed. And then he

followed it up with some great at bats after that."

Pollock in the clutch: Having lost three straight heading into Tuesday night, the D-backs were

desperate for a spark, and they got one from Pollock. After missing scoring opportunities earlier in the

game, Pollock made sure they fully capitalized in the seventh, hitting a three-run homer off

Quackenbush.

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"That first pitch for sure I was looking for a fastball that I could get in the air to the outfield," Pollock said.

"I just didn't want to be too late on him. I wanted to make sure I took a nice, aggressive swing on it, and it

worked out."

Ziggy gets it done: There were some anxious moments for the D-backs in the eighth as the Padres

loaded the bases off Daniel Hudson with two outs. Hale went to closer Brad Ziegler for the four-out

save and -- after a wild pitch allowed a run to score -- Ziegler slammed the door to earn his 26th save.

"Unfortunately with the struggles we've had lately just winning games, I've had a lot of days off, so they

feel like I'm fresh enough to do that," Ziegler said of pitching more than one inning.

Padres combust in the seventh: Four relievers couldn't hold a 3-1 lead. Two of them -- Norris and

Quackenbush -- faced six batters and didn't record an out. They combined to allow five runs on three hits

and three walks, including Pollock's three-run homer.

YOU'RE OUT OF HERE

Murphy was ejected for the fifth time this season -- a high total considering that he took over for Bud

Black on June 16. He was tossed in the eighth inning from the dugout by plate umpire Alfonso Marquez,

with pinch-hitter Brett Wallace at the plate. Murphy then got his money's worth by taking up his case

with Marquez behind the plate.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Pollock led off the D-backs first with a walk and was called out on an attempted steal of second base

when second base umpire Dan Bellino ruled that he came off the bag during his slide. The D-backs

challenged the call, and upon replay review, it was determined that Pollock maintained contact with the

base, and the call was overturned.

Then in the seventh, Ender Inciarte stole second with no one out and Paul Goldschmidt at the plate.

Bellino called him safe. Murphy asked for a review and after a two-minute delay, the call stood.

WHAT'S NEXT

Padres: The Padres play for the final time this season at Chase Field in a 6:40 p.m. PT start. Right-

hander Andrew Cashner (5-15, 4.27) is slated to be on the bump, facing the D-backs for the fifth time.

He's 1-3 with a 2.63 ERA against them.

D-backs: The D-backs wrap up their three-game series with the Padres and nine-game homestand on

Wednesday night with left-hander Robbie Ray on the mound. Ray is 1-1 with a 1.72 ERA over his last

three starts.

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Injuries to Shields, Norris not serious By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com | September 15th, 2015 PHOENIX -- The word on the injuries to Derek Norris and James Shields was positive on Tuesday.

Norris was hit in the bare right hand with a foul tip, and Shields took a hot shot off his right forearm in

Monday night's win over the D-backs.

Padres manager Pat Murphy said prior to Tuesday night's rematch that Norris' hand was sore, but he

could be used as a right-handed pinch-hitter. Austin Hedges was scheduled to start anyway and catch

starter Tyson Ross.

"It'll be a game time decision," Murphy said. "He's kind of day-to-day right now. Sore."

Norris had X-rays on Monday night that we're negative, but he consulted with a Padres hand specialist

on Tuesday.

"Everything is good so far," Norris said. "There were no other tests, not right now."

As for Shields: "He's fine," Murphy said. "He won't miss his next start. It's just a bruise. No window

fracture."

Murphy explained that a "window fracture" is an injury that's akin to a rock hitting a windshield, sending

little fractures out from the point of impact.

"I did it when I was in school. I think everybody has a window fracture when they get hit in that spot so I

constantly say that," he said. "When I went to the mound last night I said, 'Looks like a window fracture to

me.' Nobody appreciated it, because they don't know the back story, but I appreciated it. It's personal

humor."

Shields is slated to pitch Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.

Otherwise, Murphy said he was shuffling his rotation to slip the just recalled Robbie Erlin into the

rotation. He's slated to start on Saturday against the Rockies and should have at least two more starts

after that. Odrisamer Despaigne goes back to the bullpen.

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Casey Kelly will also get into the starting mix a little further down the road. The Padres have off days on

Thursday and Monday and then play 12 games in the final 13 days. Murphy said they will go to a six-man

rotation at that juncture.

"You'll see Casey Kelly inserted at some point," Murphy said. "We're finalizing that schedule right now,

but Casey Kelly will get a couple of starts, too."

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Murphy: Bullpen woes 'frustrating' By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com | 1:44 AM ET PHOENIX -- Pat Murphy was one frustrated manager when the Padres' bullpen blew a two-run lead and allowed five runs to the D-backs during the bottom of the seventhTuesday night in a 6-4 loss at Chase Field. Murphy then allowed it to boil over as he stood astounded in the dugout in the top of the eighth as pinch-hitter Brett Wallace took what the manager thought was ball four from Brad Ziegler with two out and the tying runs on base.

Murphy was ejected by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez for the fifth time since he replaced Bud Black on June 16 -- before he could even take a step on the field.

"You guys can look at the tape. I went and looked at tape. Make your own decisions," Murphy said afterward. "I went and reviewed a lot of close pitches tonight. It's just one of those things where you have a difference of opinion sometimes."

Despite the ejection, Murphy still had his say, striding out to home plate to discuss the matter at length with Marquez before being escorted off the field.

"I just said, 'Hey, where was that?'" Murphy said.

When the game resumed, Wallace struck out swinging on a full-count pitch and then gave Marquez a piece of his own mind. But the real breaking point was clearly the seventh. Starter Tyson Ross staked the Padres to a 3-1 lead by tossing six innings of one-run, four-hit ball with three walks and nine strikeouts. But Ross -- at least partially -- caused the problem by tossing 106 pitches so early in the game. That wasn't where Ross wanted to be.

"I had to battle out of some jams there," Ross said. "They're one of the best offensive teams in baseball." Thus, Murphy had to go too early to a bullpen that has been depleted by injuries toShawn Kelley and Brandon Maurer. Murphy went to Bud Norris and Kevin Quackenbush, and the pair of right-handers faced three batters each without recording an out. They combined to allow five runs on three hits and three walks, including A.J. Pollock's three-run homer hit on the first pitch Quackenbush threw.

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Frustrating? Nick Ahmed drove home the inning's first run when left-fielder Justin Upton belly-flopped on a liner, turning what should have been a base hit into a triple on a ball Murphy said Upton lost in the lights.

"Again, there were a couple of close pitches, but you can't let it get to that point where you leave it in the hands of whether it was a ball or a strike," Murphy said. "You have to attack. Not all of them were strikes. It's frustrating. Believe me, it's frustrating especially when you're trying to turn it around here and get on a roll a little bit.

"That sixth or seventh inning has been our downfall for the last month. You can attribute it to injuries, but you're looking for guys to step up. Other teams have injuries, too."

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Cashner faces Ray in series finale vs. D-backs By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com | September 15th, 2015 The Padres play the D-backs at Chase Field for the final time this season on Wednesday night.

Andrew Cashner (5-15, 4.27) is slated to face Robbie Ray (4-11, 3.54).

Cashner's season has been troubled from start to finish. Those troubles have been compounded because he has also allowed 22 unearned runs for an unmanageable 5.45 runs per game.

In his last start Ray was handed a 10-0 lead after two innings, but was only able to go five innings after issuing three walks and getting into lots of deep counts against the Dodgers hitters. After that game, Ray said he realized that he needs to pitch with a quicker tempo, which could help him throw more strikes. Ray still earned the win. Things to know abut this game

• Paul Goldschmidt is a .350 (7-for-20) lifetime hitter against Cashner with a home run and five RBIs. Jake Lamb is 4-for-9 in his career against the right-hander with a homer.

• D-backs closer Brad Ziegler has converted 24 save opportunities in a row, the longest active streak in the Majors and the second longest in club history behind the 28 in a row fashioned by J.J. Putz in 2012.

• In that vein, Padres closer Craig Kimbrel leads the Majors with 221 saves since his first full season in 2011, 60 more than the next highest number recorded by Jonathan Papelbon during the same period.

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Decker's long journey reaches its goal Notes on Myers, Shields, Spangenberg By Bil Center / San Diego Padres | September 15th, 2015 Some baseball stories are worth remembering and repeating. Cody Decker's is one. After 761 minor league games and 2,929 plate appearances in seven seasons in the Padres minor league system, Cody Decker reached the Major Leagues Monday night.

It has been a long journey since the now 27-year-old Decker was drafted in the 22nd round out of UCLA in 2009. He was not your prototypical draft pick. The right-handed hitting infielder was 5-foot-11 and 225 poouds.

As a senior, Decker led the Pac-10 in home runs and was an all-conference selection. But there was the rub. He was a senior. Most legitimate college prospects come out after their junior seasons.

I remember asking a member of the Padres front office about Decker in the days after he was draft. "We like the bat," was the report. "He can hit for power."

And that Decker has done as he climbed rung-by-rung through the Padres system. The only spot he missed was short-season Single-A, which is where most college players launch their professional careers. Decker started in the Arizona Rookie League, which he paced in homers (15) and RBIs (63) in 52 games in the summer of '09.

Up the ladder he climbed -- Low Single-A Fort Wayne, High Single-A Lake Elsinore, Double-A San Antonio and finally Triple-A. He reached the Padres then Triple-A affiliate in Tucson at the end of 2012. And there he languished for three seasons in a minor league purgatory some refer to as 4A - good enough to play at baseball's penultimate level but unable to reach the ultimate step.

Along the steep trail, Decker hit .265 with 154 minor league homers --including 21 this season for Triple-A El Paso - and 504 RBIs.

The home run count is the highest ever by a player in the Padres' minor league system -- and the most by any player in the 2009 draft class. Of course, some of those 2009 classmates had reached the Major Leagues while others had fallen by the wayside.

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Honestly, Decker thought his days were numbered. During a pre-game interview with 1090's Bob Scanlan Monday, Decker said he was contemplating a future without baseball when he was officially promoted to the Padres. In fact, he had just arrived back in Los Angeles after El Paso's season ended.

After the Chihuahuas were eliminated from the Pacific Coast League playoffs Saturday night, Decker returned to the Southwest University Park playing field to pose for pictures with fans and give-away most of his batting gloves and hats plus a set of his cleats.

For, after seven seasons, Decker was still not on the Padres' 40-man roster until Monday. He had been passed over three times by every other Major League team in the Rule 5 minor league draft.

So his was more than a career. It was a journey. And it reached its pinnacle Monday in Arizona as Decker approached a Major League batter's box for the first time to the chant of "We Want Decker" from a hearty group of Padres fans behind San Diego's dugout.

Alas, Cody Decker popped out in his first Major League at-bat. But that was an insignificant footnote to the much greater story. Cody Decker had reached the Major Leagues. He had won.

FROM THE SCORECARD: -- At the All-Star break, I half-facetiously named Wil Myers my first-half Padre Most Valuable Player because of what his absence meant to the ballclub. Given what he is doing upon his return, I might not have been far off. Myers opened Monday's game in Arizona with a home run and added a three-run double later to equal his career, single-game best of four RBIs. Since his return on Sept. 4, Myers is 9-for-37 with two doubles, two homers, seven RBIs and five runs scored in 10 games. In 45 games this season, Myers is hitting .270 with 12 doubles, a triple, seven homers, 25 RBIs and 35 runs scored in 45 games. That is a 162-game pace of 43 doubles, 25 homers, 90 RBIs and 126 runs scored. -- Right-hander James Shields is 4-1 with a 3.44 earned run average over his last six starts. Shields also reached the 200-strikeout plateau for the third time in his career while becoming only the seventh pitcher in Padres' history to reach the 200-strikeout mark (Ian Kennedy did it last year when he finished with 207). With three more scheduled starts this season, Shields could rise to as high as fourth on the Padres' single-season strikeout list. The top three are Kevin Brown (257, 1998),Jake Peavy (240, 2007) and Clay Kirby (231, 1971). -- With the addition of first baseman Yonder Alonso to the 60-day disabled list, the Padres now have four on that list. But they might not to create roster spots for their return after the season. Right-handed

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pitchers Josh Johnson and Brandon Morrow will be free agents. And Alonso and left-handed pitcher Cory Luebke will move into slots likely vacated by free agents Ian Kennedy and Joaquin Benoit. -- Infielder Cory Spangenberg has hit safely in five of the last six games, going 6-for-18 with two doubles and Monday's three RBIs. He has also scored four runs with a stolen base.

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Padres bullpen blows it in loss to D-backs Bud Norris and Kevin Quackenbush combine to allow five runs in seventh By Dennis Lin | 10:12 p.m. Sept. 15, 2015 | Updated, 10:48 p.m.

PHOENIX — For the Padres, the lines between the positives and the negatives were

clearly drawn Tuesday night at Chase Field. In a 6-4 loss to the D-backs, the bad

followed the good.

There was Tyson Ross' 31st start, that tying his career high from a year ago. There was

the bullpen's output, that continuing a season-long disappointment.

There was Justin Upton's 26th home run, his fifth this season against his former

team. There was a tentative attempt at a sinking liner, Tuesday continuing a poor

defensive series.

Ross allowed one run over six innings, entrusting a 3-1 lead to his teammates. The

Padres (68-78) had built that advantage bit by bit.

Leading off the second, Jhoulys Chacin threw Upton a wheelhouse pitch, and the

Padres slugger walloped a 458-foot home run into the second deck beyond left field.

Leading off the third, Ross continued to show his improvement at the plate, sending a

hard-hit grounder up the middle for a single. Travis Jankowski churned out a bunt

single. Wil Myers walked to load the bases with no outs. The Padres would come away

with only one run, scored by Ross on a double play.

In the top of the seventh, a two-out single by Jankowski drove in the Padres' third

run.

Ross had finally relented in the previous half-inning. He'd issued a one-out walk to

Paul Goldschmidt, a single David Peralta and another to Welington Castillo, who

made it 3-1. Pitching coach Darren Balsley went out to the mound for a quick chat.

With his 106th and final pitch, Ross induced an inning-ending double play.

Ross had walked the D-backs' first batter of the game and given up a leadoff single in

the second, but he'd cleaned up his own messes. He notched nine strikeouts,

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including, at one point, four in a row. That ran his season total to 194, one shy of the

195 he totaled last season (in 11 2/3 more innings).

"I had a good sinker going to add in with my slider, pitched to both sides of the plate

and just tried to minimize damage," Ross said.

In the bottom of the seventh, the relief did the opposite.

First, Bud Norris' disappointing season went on. The starter-turned-reliever walked

the first batter he faced. Nick Ahmed smacked a drive to left field, where Upton

drifted to his left and misjudged the path of the ball, making a halfhearted attempt at

a dive. The ball bounced past him and skittered to the wall. Ahmed dashed around the

bases for a triple.

"That ball, I think he lost in the lights," Padres interim manager Pat Murphy said.

"That was the turning point a little bit, but I think he makes that play most of the

time. ... It was unfortunate."

Norris walked the next batter, and Murphy walked to the mound. Norris walked off

without an out. Kevin Quackenbush took the mound.

Quackenbush's first pitch was redirected for a three-run homer by A.J. Pollock. After

a single and a walk, Quackenbush, too, departed without an out.

It took a strikeout from Marc Rzepczynski and two more outs recorded by Nick

Vincent to end the the inning, but not after a single off Vincent scored another run.

That made it five runs in the inning, all of them charged to Norris and Quackenbush.

The D-backs, who'd trailed 3-1, had been helped to a 6-3 lead.

"We've struggled since (Shawn) Kelley and (Brandon) Maurer have been down,"

Murphy said. "...It's frustrating when you're trying to turn here and get on a bit of a

roll. That sixth and seventh inning has been our downfall for the past month. You can

talk about injuries, but guys still have to step up."

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The D-backs bullpen encountered some trouble of its own in the eighth. After Daniel

Hudson recorded two outs, the Padres loaded the bases against him. One run scored

on a wild pitch from Brad Ziegler, that making the count 3-0 to pinch-hitter Brett

Wallace.

After a called strike and another pitch that appeared to land just below the strike

zone, Wallace thought he'd drawn a walk. Home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez,

however, signaled strike two and, as soon as he heard Murphy's objection from the

dugout, ejected the manager. In Murphy's 80th game, it was his fifth ejection. On the

next pitch, Wallace struck out swinging.

"I went and looked at the tape. You guys can look at the tape," Murphy told reporters.

"It was one of those things where you have a difference of opinion sometimes."

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Erlin to start Saturday in Colorado Will be Padres' first lefty starter since ... Erlin started 2014 final By Dennis Lin | 5:56 p.m. Sept. 15, 2015

PHOENIX — The Padres will come up just short of a full year between starts by a

left-handed pitcher. Robbie Erlin, who was recalled Monday from Triple-A El Paso,

will start Saturday at Colorado, interim manager Pat Murphy announced Tuesday.

The last time the Padres started a lefty was last Sept. 28, when Erlin went just 1 2/3

innings in the season finale at San Francisco.

With Tyson Ross taking the mound Tuesday at Chase Field, the Padres' streak of

consecutive games started by a right-hander reached 146 games. That's second only to

the Milwaukee Brewers, who haven't started a left-hander since Aug. 2013.

Erlin will serve as the Padres' fifth starter the rest of the way; after making a rocky

spot start Sunday in San Francisco, Odrisamer Despaigne has returned to the bullpen.

Murphy said Casey Kelly, also recalled Monday, will receive a couple starts before the

end of the season as the Padres look ahead to 2016.

"We're finalizing that schedule right now," Murphy said. "At some point, we're going

to insert him in and that would make it six different guys starting that week."

That would mean next week, with Kelly potentially making his first major league start

in three years Sept. 26 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. The right-

hander, who made six appearances for the Padres in 2012, underwent Tommy John

surgery the following spring and hasn't had a healthy season until now.

"I definitely feel like a normal player this year," said Kelly, who stretched out with

Double-A San Antonio before making three starts for El Paso. "It's just a good feeling

to be back and not worry about the injury. You can just go out and play baseball."

Meanwhile, Erlin has re-established himself as a pitcher to watch after falling off the

radar. He missed most of July due to shoulder soreness and saw his ERA climb as

high as 6.29, but he closed the minor league season with three strong starts, the last of

which was El Paso's first complete-game shutout by an individual pitcher.

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"I had some ups and downs results-wise but just kept working," said Erlin, who is 7-8

with a 4.58 in 24 big-league appearances (20 starts). "It was really just consistency

and managing the game."

Notable

• Catcher Derek Norris, who left Monday's game with a bruised right hand,

remains day-to-day. Murphy said Norris' availability as a pinch-hitter would be

a gametime decision.

• Right-hander James Shields will make his next start, Sunday at Colorado.

Shields took a comebacker off his right forearm in the seventh inning Monday.

• Right-hander Shawn Kelley (forearm strain) will pitch in a simulated game

Friday. Kelley threw a bullpen session Monday.

• There remains no timeline for rookie starter Colin Rea (sore elbow, forearm) to

return out of the bullpen. "We're seeing how he comes out of this thing,"

Murphy said. "He's getting work done, being evaluated."

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Friar talk: All downhill after the sixth The latest Padres news, notes and links By Jeff Sanders | 5 a.m. Sept. 16, 2015

Justin Upton continues to torment his former team. Shaky bullpen and defensive

work are doing the same to his new (temporary) team.

Behind Upton's 458-foot homer – his fifth this year against Arizona – and a nine-

strikeout performance from Tyson Ross, the Padres looked well on their way to a

victory. But Ross faltered some in the sixth, Upton played a sinking liner into a run-

scoring triple in the seventh and the bullpen allowed five runs in a 6-4 loss on

Tuesday.

Individually, two reliever lines were quite ugly:

Bud Norris – 3 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 IP

Kevin Quackenbush – 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 IP

"We've struggled since (Shawn) Kelley and (Brandon) Maurer have been

down," Murphy told the Union-Tribune. "...It's frustrating when you're trying to turn

here and get on a bit of a roll. That sixth and seventh inning has been our downfall for

the past month. You can talk about injuries, but guys still have to step up."

AROUND THE WATER COOLER

• The Padres will employ a left-handed starter for the first time since Robbie

Erlin started the finale last year in San Francisco. He, too, is the choice to pitch

Saturday, while right-hander Casey Kelly is expected to get starts down the

stretch. Also from the Union-Tribune's notebook: Derek Norris is day-to-day

with a bruised right hand, James Shields (comebacker off forearm) will make

his next start Sunday and Shawn Kelley will pitch a simulated game Friday.

• Red Sox Assistant G.M. Mike Hazen and Yankees Assistant G.M. Billy Eppler –

two finalists for the job that went to A.J. Preller last summer – is interviewing

to succeed Jerry Dipoto as the Angels' general manager.

• What if the Padres kept their young core from 2012 together? The Press

Enterprise leads you down that painful what-if game.

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Pollock's home run leads Diamondbacks over Padres, 6-4 Associated Press PHOENIX -- One pitch was all it took for A.J. Pollock. He got the one he wanted and deposited it in the seats in left field for the go-ahead runs in the Arizona Diamondbacks' 6-4 win over the San Diego Padres Tuesday night. Pollock drove the first pitch from reliever Kevin Quackenbush for a three-run home run in the seventh inning. Quackenbush had just entered the game for losing pitcher Bud Norris (1-2).

"It was one pitch, fastball. I really wanted to be aggressive with a guy on first and third in a key spot to get that run in. I just wanted to be ready and that was kind of my approach, and it worked out," Pollock said.

"`Quack" has been lights out and sometimes not," Padres manager Pat Murphy said. "That sixth or seventh inning has been our downfall for the past month."

The Diamondbacks scored five runs in the inning and batted around off four Padres relievers, spoiling a good performance from Padres starterTyson Ross, who struck out nine and allowed a run on four hits in six innings. Randall Delgado (6-4) got the win in relief, ending the seventh with a strikeout of Wil Myers, the only batter he faced. Down 3-1, the Diamondbacks cut the lead to one on a run-scoring triple by Nick Ahmed. The ball bounced under left fielder Justin Upton's glove and went to the wall. Then after Norris walked pinch hitter Aaron Hill, Pollock hit his home run. "He's been doing it all year," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said of Pollock, who made the All-Star team this season for the first time in his career. "He and Goldy (Paul Goldschmidt) have been so good for us in those situations." Brandon Drury singled deep in the hole at second base and Ender Inciarte scored to make the score 6-3 before the inning ended.

Upton had earlier given the Padres a 1-0 lead on his 26th home run of the season, which reached the upper deck in left field. Upton had three hits for the game.

The Padres added to their lead in the third inning when Ross led off with a single and moved to third base after a single and a walk. Yangervis Solarte hit into a double play, allowing Ross to score. Diamondbacks starter Jhoulys Chacin lasted five innings, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts for Arizona. The Diamondbacks cut the Padres' lead to 2-1 on an RBI single byWelington Castillo in the sixth off Ross.

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San Diego went up 3-1 in the top of the seventh on a two-out single by the No. 9 hitter in the order, Travis Jankowski. That drove in Austin Hedges. Brad Ziegler finished up for his 26th save and has converted 24 straight save chances. He allowed a run to score on a wild pitch but went 1 1/3 innings.

"Unfortunately, with the struggles we've had just winning games, I've had a lot of days off. I feel like I'm fresh enough to do that," Ziegler said of his longer outing. "Jhoulys was great and put us in a good position to win that game, and credit to our offense just hanging there, because Tyson was tough."

Murphy was ejected in the top of the eighth inning for arguing by home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez. It was Murphy's fifth ejection of the season.

TO THE REPLAY

Hale challenged an out call on a stolen base attempt by leadoff man Pollock in the first inning. After looking at replay for 2 minutes, 42 seconds, the call was overturned and Pollock notched his 35th stolen base of the season.

Murphy challenged a stolen base for the Diamondbacks' Ender Inciarte in the seventh but the call of safe was upheld after a two-minute review.

DROPPING THE TOP

The retractable roof at Chase Field was pushed open for Tuesday night's game for the first time since a 2-1 Arizona win over the New York Mets on June 6. The Diamondbacks improved to 13-13 with the roof open this season. The temperature was 92 degrees with a slight breeze at first pitch.

LOW AND OUTSIDE

Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday's game. Chandler is new to the Suns this season after signing as a free agent in July.

TRAINER'S ROOM

PADRES: C Derek Norris had X-rays taken of his right hand after he took a foul ball off it Monday night and had to leave the game. Those were negative, though he did not play Tuesday. UP NEXT

PADRES: Right-hander Andrew Cashner is scheduled to start Wednesday night against Arizona in the series finale. Cashner is 5-15 with a 4.27 earned run average this season and has allowed the most hits (182) and runs (101) by a Padres pitcher. DIAMONDBACKS: Left-hander Robbie Ray (4-11) is set to face the Padres Wednesday. It will be his 20th start of the season and he is 1-1 with a 1.72 ERA, 18 strikeouts and a .196 opponent batting average in his last three starts

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PADRES: What if the 2012 young core was kept in place? BY KYLE GLASER / STAFF WRITER Published: Sept. 14, 2015 Updated: Sept. 15, 2015 12:29 p.m. On January 1, 2012, the Padres were in a good place.

True, they were coming off a 71-91 season, but they were just one year removed from a 90-win season. What’s more, the trades of Adrian Gonzalez and Mat Latos had given them a windfall of prospects, in addition to a solid core of homegrown talent.

Hindsight is 20/20, but it wasn’t difficult to see the Padres had something good on their hands at the time, with highly-regarded young players in spades and more seemingly rising ever year.

As far as position players, the Padres boasted Yasmani Grandal at catcher, Anthony Rizzo at first base, Logan Forsythe at second, Everth Cabrera at shortstop, Chase Headley at third and Cameron Maybin in center field, all age 27 or younger. In the bullpen they had Huston Street, Luke Gregerson, Joe Thatcher, Brad Boxberger, Dale Thayer, Ernesto Frieri and Brad Brach. Their farm system, ranked No. 3 by Baseball America going into the 2012 season, had Matt Wisler, Matt Andriese, Joe Ross, Robbie Erlin, Joe Wieland, Kevin Quackenbush, Jedd Gyorko, Cory Spangenberg, Jace Peterson, and Rymer Liriano.

All were either already in the major leagues or would be in the forseeable future. At nearly every position, the Padres were deep and set for years to come.

And then they messed it up.

Fast forward to 2015, and most of the aforementioned promising young players are gone and having successful campaigns in other organizations. Through disastrous in-house scouting decisions, poor trades and player development failures, the Padres failed to turn their immense talent pool into a competitive major league product.

Grandal, Rizzo, and Boxberger were all All-Stars in 2015, but with different organizations after the Padres traded them away. Andriese, Ross and Wisler are all bright starting rotation talents in the majors, also for other teams. The Padres gave up on Forsythe at age 26 and traded him to Tampa Bay, where he is hitting .284 with 16 homers and 58 RBI in a breakout age-28 season.

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Maybin and Peterson have established themselves as above-average everyday starters in Atlanta. Headley’s trade was necessary after repeated disappointing seasons, but who knows what happens if the Padres actually surrounded him with the lineup talent they should have developed. Cabrera’s PED issues eventually caught up with him, but that’s where the Padres could have used Jace Peterson or been wiser in their trade decisions for a replacement.

The Padres of 2012 probably weren’t going to win, but by 2015 this would have been an exceptionally talented group. Cheap too. Even with Joe Wieland, Casey Kelly, Donovan Tate and Cory Luebke falling off track due to injuries or other issues, the Padres still looked to be in good shape.

None of that transpired. The Josh Byrnes regime was responsible for many of the trades, as well as bad-at-the-time extensions for Gyorko, Luebke and Maybin and gimpy veteran Carlos Quention.

Much has been made of the prospects A.J. Preller traded away (the Ross-Turner-Bauers for Wil Myers deal was risky the moment it was made), but the Padres failure to accurately assess their in-house talent began well before Preller arrived.

If the folks in charge had just accurately evaluated what they had at the start of 2012 and properly identified which players to keep, which needed a few more years to develop, which shouldn’t be cut bait with at a young age, the Padres of 2015 almost assuredly would be in a better place than they are now. Go position by position, and you’ll see on the chart below many ex-Padres are having better seasons than the current Padres at their positions. There would also be plenty of room in the payroll to add upgrades.

It’s not what the real-life Padres did. As a result, they once again find themselves irrelevant by September, watching their former players flourish around the league.

PADRES 2015 LINEUP Using only players in the organization on Jan 1, 2012. (Stats and salary are 2015 numbers) C: Yasmani Grandal .251, 15 HR, 44 RBI, .797 OPS $693,000 1B: Anthony Rizzo .278, 29 HR, 88 RBI, .911 OPS $5,000,000 2B: Logan Forsythe .284, 16 HR, 58 RBI, .807 OPS $1,100,000 3B: Chase Headley .271, 11 HR, 59 RBI, .728 OPS $13,000,000 SS: Jace Peterson .239, 5 HR, 51 RBI, .649 OPS $507,500 LF: Kyle Blanks .313, 3 HR, 6 RBI, .875 OPS in 18 games $988,000 CF: Cameron Maybin .268, 10 HR, 52 RBI, .714 OPS $8,000,000 RF: Will Venable .250, 6 HR, 30 RBI, .629 OPS $4,250,000

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Bench C: Nick Hundley .301, 10 HR, 43 RBI, .807 OPS $3,150,000 2B/3B/SS: Jedd Gyorko .329, 14 HR, 50 RBI, .689 OPS $2,000,000 OF/INF: Cory Spangenberg .262, 2 HR, 12 RBI $508,500 1B: Yonder Alonso .282, 5 HR, 31 RBI $1,650,000 OF: Daniel Robertson .288, 0 HR, 7 RBI $511,250 Pitching Staff SP: Edinson Volquez 13-7, 3.49 ERA, 1.27 WHIP $7,500,000 SP: Joe Ross 5-5, 3.75 ERA, 1.13 WHIP $507,500 SP: Matt Andriese 3-5, 4.45 ERA, 1.38 WHIP $507,5000 SP: Matt Wisler 5-7, 5.60 ERA, 1.62 WHIP $507,500 SP: Colin Rea 2-2, 4.26 ERA, 1.26 WHIP $507,500 RP: Anthony Bass 0-0, 4.52 ERA, 1.33 WHIP $725,000 RP: Brad Brach 5-2, 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP $523,000 RP: Luke Gregerson 7-3, 2.98 ERA, 0.98 ERA $6,000,000 RP: Joe Thatcher 1-3, 3.72 ERA 1.71 WHIP $1,000,000 RP: Brad Boxberger 4-9, 3.21 ERA, 34 Svs $521,400 RP: Kevin Quackenbush 3-2, 3.61 ERA, 1.13 WHIP $514,700 CL: Huston Street 3-3, 3.30 ERA, 35 Svs $7,000,000 TOTAL 2015 PAYROLL: $67,152,350

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Murphy Hits The Eject Button For 5th Time Not since 1908 has an interim manager been tossed so many times in one season. By Ben Rosehart One night after exploding for 10 runs in the desert, the well went dry for the Padres. Staked to a 3-1 lead thanks to an early homer by Justin Upton and a solid start by pitcher Tyson Ross, the bullpen could not hold the fort. San Diego relievers Bud Norris and Kevin Quackenbush slogged through a rough 7th inning as the Diamondbacks jumped in front 6-3. But Norris’s ERA rose to 6.92 after he allowed 3 earned runs and failed to record an out. Quackenbush was then asked to relieve Norris but promptly gave up a 3-run homer to AJ Pollock. The crushing blow came on the first pitch by Quackenbush. You have to feel for Ross especially after he turned in another quality start and struck out 6 over 7 frames. Every cutaway of the starting pitcher on the game broadcast during that fateful 7th inning said a million words without him or anyone else uttering a syllable. By no means was he was trying to show anybody up, but you could still feel the tension from his stoic expression. Upton finished a triple shy of the cycle and leads the club with 26 homers. Padres Interim manager Pat Murphy was evidently frustrated with his bullpen as well as the umpires. Murphy was tossed in the 8th inning with the bases packed with Padres when Brett Wallace took a borderline called strike by the home umpire. That’s already the 5th time in 81 games he’s had to exit stage right since taking over for the fired Bud Black. As Sports Director Jim Laslavic noted Tuesday evening in our 11pm sportscast, we believe this to be the most ejections in one season for an interim MLB manager. The fabled Kid Elberfeld of the New York Highlanders was thrown out 4 times in 98 games back in 1908 after taking over mid-season as a player/manager. Elberfeld was fittingly nicknamed “the Tabasco Kid” for his fiery temper. The Padres are in 4th place. But Murph is #1. It remains to be seen if he will be the #1 choice of general manager AJ Preller and the Padres brain trust as the leader of the club next season.

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Bud Black was fired after the team stumbled to a 32-33 record. The Friars are 36-45 under Murphy who was promoted from Triple-A El Paso and knows many of the current players from their time climbing up the minor league system. Despite all the off-season changes, the Padres appear destined to finish below .500 and will need to win 9 of their final 16 games just to equal last year’s record of 77-85. They need to reel off a crazy 14-2 stretch to finish with a winning mark – which is just as rare as a guy named Kid Elberfeld getting mentioned in a local sportscast. Published at 12:16 AM PDT on Sep 16, 2015

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Josh Johnson, aiming for comeback, to have third Tommy John surgery September 16, 2015 11:07 am ET

Padres right-hander Josh Johnson, still aiming for another comeback, is having a third Tommy John surgery soon, according to sources.

Johnson, who recently had a setback in his latest comeback attempt while on a rehab pitching assignment, is scheduling it soon, likely sometime next week.

Johnson, a former Marlins star, signed a one-year deal with the Padres over the winter after signing a one-year deal with them the year before, but he wasn't able to pitch either year. He is 58-45 lifetime with a 3.40 ERA and last pitched in the big leagues in 2013.

Johnson, at one time one of the better pitchers in the National League, led the NL with a 2.30 ERA in 2010.

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Report: 3rd elbow surgery coming for JJ Padres right-hander has not pitched in Majors since 2013 By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com | 11:17 AM ET Josh Johnson's long road back to the big leagues has reportedly hit another detour.

CBS Sports reported Wednesday that Johnson will require a third corrective surgery on his pitching elbow and could undergo the operation as soon as next week. Johnson has already had Tommy John surgery twice and has not pitched in the Major Leagues since 2013.

The Padres have not commented on the report.

Johnson, who has gone 58-45 with a 3.40 ERA during his big league career, was a National League All-Star in 2009 and '10 for the Marlins. The 31-year-old right-hander was dealt to the Blue Jays in the winter of 2012 as part of a massive trade and made 16 starts for Toronto in '13, posting a 2-8 record and a 6.20 ERA.

Johnson did not pitch in the Major Leagues or the Minor Leagues last season while recovering from injury, and he made just one appearance in the Minors this season. Johnson suited up for Lake Elsinore, San Diego's affiliate in the Class A Advanced California League, and faced just one batter in that outing.