Collmenter and D-Backs beat Padres 5-1
By JOSE ROMERO, Associated Press
Aug 23, 2014 12:19 AM CDT
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ender Inciarte reacts to a foul ball in the fourth inning during a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, Aug. 22, 2014, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)   (Associated Press)

PHOENIX (AP) — Some extra rest seemed to be just what Josh Collmenter needed.

Collmenter came two outs away from a complete game, holding the San Diego Padres without an earned run on four hits over 8 1-3 innings in the Diamondbacks' 5-1 win Friday night.

Collmenter (9-7) also tied his career high for strikeouts with eight and did not walk a batter. The Diamondbacks' victory ended a six-game losing streak.

"Give the arm a little break and we've been going at it quite a while now," Collmenter said. "It was just good to rest and be 100 percent going into (Friday)."

Arizona manager Kirk Gibson had Collmenter, who started the season as a reliever, skip his between-starts bullpen session and only play catch.

"His arm had much more life to it. Think he had only one three-ball count the whole game," Gibson said. "Just wanted to get him through this game. Really didn't even want to put him out there in the ninth inning but he obviously had a shutout going. I went as far as I was comfortable going with him."

Arizona scored three first-inning runs - two on a Miguel Montero home run -- and added another in the second inning on a two-out error by Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko, one of two errors for him.

Montero's two-out blast hit the right field fair pole on a line. Two batters earlier, David Peralta tripled and Mark Trumbo drove him in with ground ball deep in the hole at shortstop for an infield hit.

"I was lucky enough to keep it fair," Montero said.

Odrisamer Despaigne (3-5) settled down after a rough start, but took the loss after going five innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits.

"The story was their guy. We couldn't solve him. He pitched a good game and we couldn't square any balls up," Padres manager Bud Black said.

The Padres put runners on first and second in the ninth inning against Collmenter, and Matt Stites got the final two outs but a passed ball allowed Alexi Amarista to score from third base and break up the shutout.

D-BACKS 'D' UP

Diamondbacks center fielder Ender Inciarte recorded five straight outs on fly balls between the second and third innings, including a diving catch to take a hit away from Despaigne. Peralta ended the third throwing out Amarista from right field trying to go from first to third base on a base hit from Yangervis Solarte.

Shortstop DiDi Gregorius got to a ground ball with a backhand stop and threw out Gyorko in the seventh, his momentum carrying him toward third base as he made the throw.

"I don't know that I've ever seen that," Gibson said of the Gregorius play. "The way he threw it. I thought maybe he'd one-hop it and he just threw a bullet over there."

VENABLE LOSES A HIT

A scoring change from Aug. 12 took a hit away from Padres outfielder Will Venable. Major League Baseball on Friday announced that an eighth-inning infield hit originally scored a single against Colorado that day was changed to an error on Rockies shortstop Josh Rutledge. The two runs in the inning became unearned.

Venable was hitless in three at-bats Friday and has 74 hits on the season.

ON DECK

Padres: RHP Andrew Cashner makes his first appearance since being placed on the disabled list with shoulder soreness on June 23. He hasn't pitched in the majors since June 18, when he held the Seattle Mariners to a run on seven hits over seven innings.

Diamondbacks: LHP Vidal Nuno (0-3) starts the second of the three-game series against San Diego. Nuno has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts but has nothing to show for it. A San Diego area native, he's never faced the Padres in his career.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: Several regulars are on the disabled list, including 1B Yonder Alonso (strained right forearm), who missed his eighth straight game, SS Everth Cabrera (hamstring, 10) and OF Carlos Quentin (left knee, 22).

Diamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock is expected to rejoin Class AAA Reno for a rehab assignment for his broken right hand in the next few days. INF Chris Owings (left shoulder strain) was in Reno Friday to continue his rehab work after a stint with the Diamondbacks' rookie league club.

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