Voit, Manaea power Padres over D-backs, ensure series win

SAN DIEGO - Luke Voit hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and Sean Manaea pitched six strong innings as the San Diego Padres rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 on July 16.

"You go through so many ups and downs in a season. I finally feel I am back to what I used to be in, obviously going back to 2018, 2019, and 2020," Voit said. "They brought me over here to mash, but unfortunately I haven’t done that this year, but it is good to feel like myself again."

The victory ensures the Padres’ first series win since a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks on June 20-23. San Diego can sweep this three-game set Sunday.

"Momentum is a very big thing going into an All-Star break," Manaea said. "Getting a series win is always big and probably start off the second half on the right foot."

Manaea (5-4) allowed three runs and seven hits, with three strikeouts and two walks. Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless ninth for his 26th save, second-most in the MLB.

"Three-run home runs tend to that, especially in close low-scoring game," San Diego manager Bob Melvin said of the Voit’s blast, which ultimately won the game. "Obviously, that was the turning point. It turns Manaea’s game where he is behind and all of the sudden he gets a win. You talk about quality starts — six inning, three runs — good. He gets a win — it changed a little bit with the three-run homer."

Carson Kelly hit a two-run homer for the Diamondbacks.

"I felt really good. The change-up to Kelly was really the one bad pitch," Manaea said. "I’m just happy with the ‘W.’"

Arizona starter Tyler Gilbert worked five innings and allowed five hits and three earned runs, but didn’t figure in the decision. He’s looking for his first win of the season.

Arizona held a 3-1 lead going into the sixth and Gilbert seemed in charge. However, Gilbert gave up a leadoff ground-rule double to Jake Cronenworth and a walk to Manny Machado. Gilbert was lifted in favor of reliever Noe Ramirez (2-3), who took the loss.

After striking out Jorge Alfaro, Ramirez surrendered a three-run blast to Voit on a 90 mph, four-seam fastball that gave the Padres a 4-3 lead.

"I don’t want to get beat by a heater, especially if it is something that is a good pitch to hit," Voit said. "He made a mistake and I did damage with it."

Arizona had the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh and runners on first and second with one out in the eighth, but failed to score the tying run in either inning. The Diamondbacks left nine men on base.

Arizona’s first run came in the fourth inning after Jordan Luplow hit a ground-rule double and Buddy Kennedy drove him in with a triple that Padres’ centerfielder Trent Grisham misplayed badly. Kelly hit his two-run shot in the fifth for the short-lived 3-1 Arizona lead.

"Trent is going back and forth a little bit. He has played really well at times and then at times not," Melvin said. "He is a quality center fielder. There have been some plays recently that I think he expects to make."

CRONENWORTH HEADED TO ALL-STAR GAME

San Diego 2B Jake Cronenworth (.241, 8 HR, 38 RBI) was selected as a replacement for the NL All-Star team, taking the place of injured Marlins 2B Jazz Chisholm. The Mets’ Jeff McNeil will take Chisholm’s place in the starting lineup. Cronenworth will join 3B Manny Machado and RHP Joe Musgrove as the Padres’ representatives on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It is Cronenworth’s second consecutive All-Star appearance. "It’s kind of hard to put into words," Cronenworth said. "The work I’ve put in this year, and the difficulties and struggles I went through early on, to get through those and get back to my normal self and to be able to do this with Manny and Joe is pretty special." Said manager Bob Melvin of Cronenworth: "Kind of hidden in some of the overall numbers are the numbers when you really need them. If you look at those runners in scoring position and all those big spots, that’s where he really excels. ... This isn’t going to be his last All-Star game."