(Sports Network) – Kyle Kendrick tries to string back-to-back wins together this afternoon when the Philadelphia Phillies resume their four-game set with the San Diego Padres
Kendrick was terrific in beating the New York Mets on Sunday, as he held them to a run and six hits over seven innings without a strikeout to run his record to 5-4, while lowering his earned run average to 3.34.
“It’s nice to strike out guys, but [I] don’t always have that ability,” Kendrick said. “So I stay with what I do, be aggressive and get ground balls. That’s what I do.”
Kendrick beat the Padres in relief earlier in the year and is 2-1 in three games (two starts) against them with a 5.91 ERA.
San Diego, meanwhile, will counter with Mat Latos, who is 5-10 on the year with a 4.02 ERA. Latos did not get a decision on Sunday against San Francisco, as he allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings.
“I felt like I had good command of my slider, good command of my pitches, for the most part,” said Latos. “It’s just, I feel like I did a really good job out there. There was nothing but weak ground balls and weak line drives that found their way through.”
Latos couldn’t get out of the fifth inning in a loss to the Phils earlier this season and is 0-2 lifetime against them with a 3.86 ERA.
Philadelphia continued its recent mastery of the Padres on Friday, as Cole Hamels shrugged off his most recent outing to toss eight strong innings to help the Phillies to a 3-1 win.
Hamels (12-5), a San Diego native, allowed one run on three hits, walked one and recorded 10 strikeouts — seven of which came in the first three innings — to pick up his team-best 12th win of the season. The left-hander, who fought off a game-time temperature of 98 degrees, lasted just 4 1/3 innings against the New York Mets on Saturday after giving up a season-high seven earned runs and walking a season-high four batters.
“He pitched very good, moved the ball around,” Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said of Hamels.
Carlos Ruiz and John Mayberry, Jr. both hit an RBI double for the Phillies, who returned home after a 4-2 road trip to Flushing and Chicago.
Alberto Gonzalez knocked in the lone run for San Diego, which has lost eight consecutive games to the Phillies. The Padres were trying to match a season- best four-game winning streak following a sweep in Miami that saw them outscore the Marlins, 23-6.
Cory Luebke (3-4) yielded three runs — two earned — on six hits over five frames.
Philly swept a four-game set from the Padres earlier in the year and has beaten them in 15 of the last 17 meetings.