Padres lose to New Orleans 7-4

Tucson Padres Game Summary

August 8, 2013

New Orleans 7 Tucson 4

WP: Morey (1-0)

LP: Lane (2-1)

S: None

Time: 2:56

Attn: 3,238

The New Orleans Zephyrs hit three home runs Thursday in a 7-4 win over the Tucson Padres at Kino Stadium. The Padres have lost 14 of their last 21 games and are in third place in the Pacific Southern Division, five games out of first.

Bryan Peterson launched a two-run homer over the right field bullpen in the first inning to put the Zephyrs ahead 2-0. Nick Green smashed a solo home run in the second to extend the New Orleans lead to three runs. After Peterson tripled to left field in the third, Kevin Kouzmanoff’s sacrifice fly brought him home for the Zephyrs fourth run. New Orleans struck for three runs in the fifth, including a two-run homer from Kouzmanoff, the Zephyrs’ final home run of the night.

Cody Decker and Eddy Rodriguez homered on two straight pitches to lead off the bottom of the fifth, closing the gap to 7-2. Decker’s solo shot was his team-leading 14th of the season, while Rodriguez’s home run was his second of the year in Triple-A. Tucson scored two runs in the ninth on RBI hits from Rodriguez and Daniel Robertson, but New Orleans halted the Padres rally to seal the win.

Reliever Robert Morey earned the win after pitching two innings and allowing two runs on three hits. Jason Lane was charged with his first loss after yielding seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. Tucson pitchers punched out 14 batters in the game, led by Lane’s seven strikeouts.

Next Game: Friday, 7:05 p.m. vs. New Orleans (Marlins affiliate) – New Orleans LHP Brad Hand (3-3, 2.53) vs. Tucson RHP Burch Smith (3-1, 3.12). Game coverage begins at 6:55 on tucsonpadres.com and airs on tape delay on 1290 AM The Source.