Padres turn 19 hits into an 18-11 victory

The San Diego Padres had their best offensive game of the season on the day their greatest hitter was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Mike Cameron and Adrian Gonzalez hit two-run homers during an 11-run first inning off Jason Jennings in the Padres’ 18-11 victory over the Astros on Sunday.

The Padres put up their highest run total in five years and had a season-high 19 hits while Tony Gwynn participated in ceremonies in Cooperstown, N.Y.

“We took the walks, we got the hits, and when they made mistakes, we did damage,” said Cameron, who went three for five with two doubles.

San Diego started its offensive outburst while Gwynn was giving his induction speech.

Brian Giles had a two-run double and starting pitcher Tim Stauffer, called up from the minors on Saturday, had a two-run single as San Diego put together its biggest first inning since scoring 13 against St. Louis on Aug. 24, 1993.

It was the most runs allowed by the Astros in an inning since they gave up 14 in the first against Cincinnati on Aug. 3, 1989.

Milton Bradley and Josh Bard also drove in runs during the Padres’ best run-producing inning since a 12-run outburst in the ninth inning of a 15-2 win over Colorado on Sept. 12, 2004.

Gonzalez said the Padres became more aggressive, sensing that Jennings was struggling.

“He was just trying to get through the inning,” Gonzalez said. “He was just throwing strikes and we weren’t wasting the pitches he was throwing.”

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RESULTS

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at St. Louis 9, Milwaukee 5: Ryan Ludwick’s bases-loaded walk broke an eighth-inning tie, Albert Pujols followed with a three-run double and the Cardinals rallied from a five-run deficit against slumping Milwaukee, which is just a half a game ahead of the Cubs in the NL Central after leading by 8 1/2 games before play on June 24. The defending World Series champion Cardinals are only six games back after trailing by 10 1/2 games at the end of June.

* Chicago 6, at Cincinnati 0: Carlos Zambrano (14-7) became the majors’ first 14-game winner and finished with three hits to lead the Cubs. Derrek Lee homered for the third time in four days for Chicago, which finished a 4-2 trip. Zambrano even stayed in after Ryan Freel lined a pitch off his right ankle in the sixth.

* at New York 5, Washington 0: John Maine (12-5) retired his final 14 batters, David Wright drove in two runs and the Mets salvaged a four-game split in a game shortened to 4 1/2 innings by rain. Ryan Castro, filling in for Paul Lo Duca (strained hamstring), had a home run, a double and two RBIs. The game was called after a wait of about 90 minutes.

* Atlanta 14, at Arizona 0: Chipper Jones drove in five runs and Tim Hudson (11-5) allowed three hits in seven innings to end the Diamondbacks’ eight-game winning streak. Andruw Jones and Scott Thorman also homered for the Braves, who had 17 hits and ended a four-game losing streak.

* at Philadelphia 5, Pittsburgh 1: Jimmy Rollins had three hits and Kyle Kendrick threw seven strong innings as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep. Philadelphia, winner in eight of its last nine, improved to a season-high six games over .500 (55-49) and swept the Pirates for the first time since 2001. Nate McLouth homered for Pittsburgh, which fell to 2-13 since the All-Star break.

* San Diego 18, at Houston 11: The Astros matched a season high for homers in a game with four in the loss.

* Florida 8, at San Francisco 5: The Marlins avoided a sweep and ended a six-game losing streak.

* at Colorado 9, Dodgers 6: The Rockies have not lost a home series since May 18-20 against the Royals.

From the Associated Press