BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Ian Kennedy usually doesn’t have a lot of fun pitching against his former team, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The San Diego Padres’ right-hander certainly had a miserable night against Arizona on Thursday, allowing four runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings of a 5-1 loss. He struck out two and walked two.
“It could be me, it could be them,” he said. “I’ve thrown well against them and I’ve also thrown really bad against them. I don’t know what there is to that.”
Kennedy is 2-2 with a 5.93 ERA in five starts against the Diamondbacks since he was sent to San Diego in a trade on July 31, 2013.
Randall Delgado and four relievers combined on a four-hitter, and A.J. Pollock had three hits to help Arizona beat the Padres.
The Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in seven games, including the final two of this four-game series in which they outscored the Padres 11-2.
Delgado’s outing marked the start of the Diamondbacks going to a six-man rotation. Delgado (3-3) started on April 4 and 10, and then made 37 appearances as a reliever.
He came into the game with a 5.85 ERA and held San Diego to two hits in five innings. He struck out two and walked none.
Kennedy threw 65 pitches through three innings, falling behind 4-0. He allowed five hits in a three-run second, including RBI base hits by Didi Gregorius and Ender Inciarte. Another run scored on rookie third baseman Cory Spangenberg’s throwing error.
“It was a constant grind through those first two innings,” Kennedy said. “I was pretty tired. I had a lot of long at-bats. I threw a lot of pitches early on. Just trying to grind through it and allow myself to go into the sixth. It was a frustrating start.”
Miguel Montero added an RBI single in the third, and Aaron Hill had an RBI double off Blaine Boyer in the seventh.
San Diego loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth against Matt Stites and scored just one run. Oliver Perez came on and threw a wild pitch that brought in San Diego’s only run, and then struck out the side.
“Story again was we just couldn’t get to their pitcher,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “We couldn’t get to their guy last night, couldn’t get to their guy tonight. You’ve got to score to win. You can’t expect to win 2-1, 1-0 every night. We have been doing that for a while. The bats of late have gone a little cold. We have to get them revitalized and going again.
“Since the All-Star break they have been better, but it’s been a little bit of a downturn lately and we have to turn that around.”
WINTER PLANS
Black said 1B-OF Jake Goebbert is going to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic and likely will be joined there by C-1B Yasmani Grandal.
HOME RECORD
Despite losing their last two games, the Padres are 40-31 at home and have won 21 of their last 29 at Petco Park.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Manager Kirk Gibson, on the return Wednesday night of RHP Daniel Hudson from two Tommy John surgeries: “To see him out there again was very powerful.”
Padres: Black said SS Everth Cabrera, on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring, won’t make the weekend trip to Colorado but will join the team in Los Angeles and be re-evaluated there.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: Arizona buses up the freeway to face the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games, with Vidal Nuno (0-3, 3.23 ERA) scheduled to start Friday night.
Padres: LHP Eric Stults (6-15, 4.56) is scheduled to start the opener of a three-game series at Colorado. He’s allowed three or fewer earned runs in 11 of his last 13 starts since June 17.
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