SAN DIEGO (AP) - The punchless San Diego Padres don’t have many answers these days.
They certainly didn’t have any against Bronson Arroyo and two Arizona relievers, who combined to hold the Padres to three hits in a 2-0 Diamondbacks win Friday night in a matchup of the bottom two teams in the NL West. Aaron Hill hit a two-run single off Andrew Cashner in the third inning.
The Diamondbacks have the worst record in the majors - 10-22 - and came in with the worst ERA, 5.20. The Padres came with a .217 batting average, worst in the NL and second-worst in the majors.
“It’s not good. It’s frustrating,” said San Diego’s Will Venable, who went 0 for 4. “It’s just a matter of time. I am doing everything I can to make adjustments.
“You just have to stick with it and have the confidence that it will turn. We show up every day, expecting to go out there and produce. It has been a lot of guys but we are working hard.”
Arroyo (2-2) lowered his ERA from 7.77 to 6.03. He didn’t allow a hit until Yonder Alonso singled to right with one out in the fifth. Until then, the only baserunner was leadoff batter Everth Cabrera, who reached in the first when Arroyo couldn’t handle a chopper for an error. Arroyo then proceeded to get 13 straight outs, including when Seth Smith grounded into an inning-ending double play in the first.
Arroyo allowed three singles in seven innings, struck out six and walked one. He is 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA in his last five starts against San Diego.
“We have to keep going through it,” manager Bud Black said. “They have to cinch their belts and keep at it. There are a lot of guys who are pressing.”
Cashner had a bad third inning. He loaded the bases on a single and two walks, and then allowed Hill’s two-run single to left with two outs.
San Diego’s Alexi Amarista reached third with two outs in the fifth before being stranded when rookie Jace Peterson grounded out. The Padres had runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh before Peterson again grounded out.
Addison Reed pitched the ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.
Cashner (2-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings, struck out one and walked three.
NOTES: Arizona’s Ender Inciarte, recalled from Triple-A on Wednesday, singled to left in the ninth for his first big league hit. He made his first start, in CF. … Padres LF Carlos Quentin, who started the season on the disabled list with a bone bruise in his left knee, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Saturday for Class AA Lake Elsinore at Inland Empire. RHP Casey Kelly, who missed all of last season while rehabbing from reconstructive elbow surgery, will start that game as he also begins a rehab assignment. It will be his first competition since 2012. … Padres 3B Chase Headley, on the DL with a right calf strain, is expected to begin a rehab assignment sometime.
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