Giles, Padres Offense Powers Peavy To 13th W

Have yourself a series Brian Giles! The Padres right fielder who entered Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark this weekend with 2 home runs on the year, trots back to San Diego with 7. Sunday marked the third time in Giles career with homers in three straight games; however he had never before hit 5 in that stretch. Brian Giles was not the only hitter with something extra to give during the 10-4 win; the Padres set a franchise record with 9 doubles and 12 extra base hits.

Padres ace, Jake Peavy cruised much of the afternoon leading to his 7th road victory against 0 defeats. The hard throwing righty tossed 6 2/3 innings allowing 4 (2 earned) runs while striking out 5. The Cy Young candidate has run his record to 13-5 with a 2.23 ERA.

With a day off Monday, most of the Padres bullpen will have multiple days off to rest their heavily taxed arms. Heath Bell came in relief of Peavy in the 7th and put a stop to the Reds rally that had them within 2 runs with the bases juiced. Bell stayed in to pitch a scoreless 8th, and Joe Thatcher finished the game after a 4 run 9th put the game out of reach.

A series win and a 3-4 road trip has the Padres 3.5 games back of the Diamondbacks and leading the wild card race by a half game. The Friars head home to begin a series with the Colorado Rockies who come into Sunday tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers 6 games back in the west.