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Tuesday, Sep. 5 10:05pm ET
Klesko, Nevin form HR tandem | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Ryan Klesko hopes his power slump is over. Klesko, who hadn't homered in a month, teamed with Phil Nevin to hit consecutive home runs in the fourth inning, leading the San Diego Padres to 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. Klesko barely cleared the left-center field wall with a two-run homer in the fourth for a 2-1 lead. It was Klesko's 24th homer but his first in 91 at-bats since Aug. 5 against the Chicago Cubs. Nevin, who leads San Diego with 31 home runs, followed with a 412-foot shot to left-center. "It's nice to be able to contribute to a win," Klesko said. "It's been awhile since I've hit one." Heading into August, Klesko was on pace to smash his career highs in home runs (34) and RBIs (93), set with Atlanta in 1996. But he slumped in August, hitting just .250. "I haven't been overmatched," Klesko said. "It just seems like every time I hit the ball hard, it's right at someone." Jay Witasick (3-1), acquired from Kansas City on July 31, allowed an unearned run and three hits, tying a career high with 10 strikeouts in 7 2-3 innings. He left his previous start, at Chicago, with heat exhaustion. "I don't consider myself a strikeout pitcher," Witasick said. "I just want to get my first pitch down and get ground balls, but tonight my ball just seemed to be moving." Padres manager Bruce Bochy thought Witasick threw as well as he has in his seven NL starts. "That was just a great game for him," Bochy said. "He had great movement on his fastball and it made him tough." Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth for his 37th save in 44 chances. Paul Rigdon (2-3) gave up three runs and four hits in six innings, walked four and struck out four. "I made two mistakes tonight and they hit them out of the park," Rigdon said. "That's basically it in a nutshell." Klesko was looking for a pitch away in the fourth inning, and Rigdon threw a fastball up and away. "It was a good pitch, but it was right where I wanted it," Nevin said. "Paul pitched a quality game and made two bad pitches," Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "Both pitches that were hit for home runs were out of the strike zone." Milwaukee took the lead in the fourth after Richie Sexson singled and Jeromy Burnitz hit a hard shot to Nevin at third base. Nevin bobbled the ball for one error, then made another on a wild throw that allowed the runners to second and third. After an intentional walk, Ron Belliard hit into a force play to second that scored Sexson. Desi Relaford led off the bottom of the fourth with a single before Klesko homered. Game notesWitasick also struck out 10 batters with Kansas City on Sept. 17, 1999, at Oakland. ... The Padres have hit consecutive homers six times this season. The last time came on Aug. 22 when Nevin and John Mabry connected against the New York Mets. ... In his last two starts, Rigdon has allowed just three runs and eight hits. ... Damian Jackson's career-best 13-game hitting streak came to an end when he went 0-for-4. ... The Brewers have lost two straight on the road after coming into the series having won six of seven road games. ... Padres INF Kevin Nicholson was placed on the 60-day DL with a broken left wrist. ... San Diego purchased the contract of INF Greg LaRocca from Triple-A Las Vegas. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Milwaukee Clubhouse San Diego Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 10 Oakland 3
San Diego 3
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