Read More: Rod Barajas (C – LOS), Dana Eveland (P – LOS), Ted Lilly (P – LOS), Matt Kemp (CF – LOS), James Loney (1B – LOS), San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers, Aug 31, 2011 12:10 PM PDT

Rod Barajas hit a two-run home run in the second inning, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-2 win over the San Diego Padres Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers swept the Padres for the second straight time in Los Angeles, and have now won eight of their last nine games.

The Dodgers finished August at 17-11, their first winning month since June 2010.

Barajas also doubled on Wednesday, capping off a wonderful month that saw the catcher hit .357 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 18 games. James Loney also had a stellar month for the Dodgers, and had two hits today, including an RBI and a run scored. Matt Kemp also drove in a run, setting a new career high with 102 RBI.

Ted Lilly pitched into the sixth inning for his second straight win. He allowed two runs, but also was at his most wild. He walked four batters in a game for the first time since June 1, 2010.

After the game, the Dodgers announced Dana Eveland will be promoted from Triple A to start in Pittsburgh on Thursday. The Dodgers play once against the Pirates to makeup a rained out game from May 12.

For more news and information on the Dodgers, be sure to read True Blue LA.

Updated Jun 8, 2011 7:21 PM ET

SAN DIEGO (AP)

The San Diego Padres will call up prized prospect Anthony Rizzo on Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation said, a move that they hope will give a boost to the offensively challenged club.

The person spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the promotion hasn’t been made official. Rizzo, a slugging first baseman who’s been tearing up the Pacific Coast League with Triple-A Tucson, flew to San Diego on Wednesday to have his left thumb examined by a specialist in the last step before joining the big league squad.

Fans have been clamoring for the last-place Padres to call up the 21-year-old Rizzo, who had never played above Double-A until he started this season with Tucson.

Rizzo is one of two prized prospects acquired by the Padres when they traded three-time All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox in December in a five-player deal. He batted .365 with a .715 slugging percentage, .444 on-base percentage, 16 homers and 63 RBIs at Tucson.

The other top prospect obtained by the Padres in the deal is right-hander Casey Kelly, who’s with Double-A San Antonio.

The Padres have struggled all season, particularly at home. They were 28-34 and last in the NL West going into Wednesday’s game against Colorado.

Rizzo is expected to be in the starting lineup against the Washington Nationals on Thursday night. It’ll be the second time this homestand that the Padres have faced another last-place team.

After trading Gonzalez, the Padres signed Brad Hawpe to play first base even though he’d only played a handful of games there during his big league career. He was a first baseman in the minors but moved to the outfield when he made his big league debut with Colorado because Todd Helton was playing first for the Rockies.

Hawpe was due to make his third straight start in right field on Wednesday.

The Padres play at Boston June 20-22.

Rizzo injured his left thumb May 31 when he collided with an umpire. He sat out the following two games, played three games and then sat out Monday and Tuesday. He had an MRI exam on Tuesday. The Padres wanted to have him checked by a specialist before bringing him up.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says the San Diego Padres will call up prized prospect Anthony Rizzo on Thursday.

The person spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the move hasn’t been made official. Rizzo, who’s been tearing up the Pacific Coast League with Triple-A Tucson, flew to San Diego on Wednesday to have his left thumb examined by a specialist.

The slugging first baseman is one of two prized prospects acquired by the Padres when they traded three-time All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox in December in a five-player deal. He is batting .365 with a .715 slugging percentage, .444 on-base percentage, 16 homers and 63 RBIs.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SAN DIEGO — Padres prospect Anthony Rizzo will be in San Diego
on Wednesday but not to play — at least not yet.

The Padres are bringing their Triple-A Tucson first baseman to
town so team doctors can evaluate his bruised left thumb, general
manager Jed Hoyer told the Associated Press. Rizzo, who is hitting
.365 with 16 homers and 63 RBIs, had an MRI performed in Tucson on
Tuesday. Rizzo told the Arizona Daily Star results of the MRI –
which Padres sources said was performed to see if there was any
structural damage — were negative.

Rizzo was a late scratch from Tucson’s lineup on Tuesday night
and also sat out Monday’s game, though he said he’s improving.
Rizzo, 21, injured his thumb in a collision with an umpire last
Tuesday night in Las Vegas and immediately sat out two games for
precautionary reasons. He played the next three games after that
going 4-for-14 with a homer and two RBIs.

“We’re just going to be careful,” Rizzo told the Arizona Daily
Star. “It’s just swollen. It’s a bruise just like we said all
along. It’s like 100 percent better from the last time I
played.”

On Monday, the Padres moved Brad Hawpe from first base to right
field, a move team officials said would pave the way for Rizzo’s
promotion to the big leagues. That led to speculation that Rizzo
could be in the Padres’ lineup for Wednesday’s series finale with
the Colorado Rockies.

Asked for news on Rizzo on Tuesday, Padres manager Bud Black
said he is only “concerned with the San Diego Padres.”

While he said he could understand the speculation, Padres
general manager Jed Hoyer told 4SD he wouldn’t break any news.

“I think Anthony’s very close to joining the team,” Hoyer said.
“… I don’t think it’s going to be long before he’s playing at
Petco Park. I think it will be soon.”

Before this season, Rizzo was rated as the No. 2 prospect in the
Padres’ farm system by Baseball America.

Rizzo, one of four players acquired from the Boston Red Sox in
December in return for Adrian Gonzalez, hit a combined 25 homers
between Single-A and Double-A last season.

Hundley closer

Black said the Padres will re-evaluate catcher Nick Hundley
(strained right oblique) after he played in his fourth straight
rehab game in Tucson. Hundley caught and had a pair of RBI doubles
early in Tuesday’s game. He went 0-for-5 in an appearance as the
team’s designated hitter in a 24-3 loss on Monday to Tacoma.

Et cetera

OF Cameron Maybin (inflamed right knee) will do more work on the
field on Wednesday and the team will assess when he is to begin a
rehab assignment, manager Bud Black said. … Black said 2B Orlando
Hudson (left groin strain) is a little behind Maybin and C Nick
Hundley in his rehab. Hudson performed limited baseball activities
on Tuesday, Black said.

 

SAN DIEGO (AP) — It’s gotten so bad for the San Diego Padres that they were outhit by a catcher making his major league debut.

Daniel Descalso singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 11th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the punchless San Diego Padres 3-2 last night.

Catcher Tony Cruz had three hits in his big league debut.

The Padres had only two hits. They went 0 for 19 with three walks after Chase Headley’s double in the fourth. The Padres lost their season-high fifth straight and dropped to 8-20 at home, worst in the majors. It was the first time in six games they scored more than one run.

Descalso’s sharp one-hopper off the glove of diving second baseman Orlando Hudson — his third hit — scored Allen Craig, who drew a leadoff walk off Ernesto Frieri (1-2) and stole second. Frieri struck out Skip Schumaker and Cruz.

Cruz was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Monday after backup catcher Gerald Laird was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a broken right index finger.

“You saw his potential,” Manager Tony La Russa said. “He caught well, blocked the ball. He’s still a developing catcher, but he’s at a nice level right now and should get better. He stands at the plate and has a very nice swing.”

Cruz said he felt comfortable making his debut.

“I think being able to go out there and catch the first inning kind of got the nerves out a little bit, helped me out,” he said. “I just went up there trying to make solid contact. Things worked out.”

Miguel Batista (3-1) pitched two innings for the win. Eduardo Sanchez pitched the 11th for his fifth save in seven chances.

The Cardinals have won four straight and eight of nine.

St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the first on Lance Berkman’s two-out infield single and an error on first baseman Brad Hawpe.

Hawpe hit a two-run homer to straightaway center in the bottom of the inning, one batter after Ryan Ludwick reached on shortstop Ryan Theriot’s two-out throwing error.

Hawpe made a diving catch of Jon Jay’s line drive to end the seventh with a runner on third. The Cardinals had just tied the game at 2 on Theriot’s groundout. Cruz led off the inning with his second big league hit, a double, and advanced on Descalso’s single before being caught in a rundown on a grounder to first by pinch-hitter Colby Rasmus.

Cruz’s first big league hit was a single up the middle in the second.

St. Louis starter Kyle McClellan held San Diego to two unearned runs and two hits in six innings, struck out four and walked none.

Copyright 2011 All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Reed Johnson lined a 1-1 pitch into the left-field bleachers in the 11th inning to give the Chicago Cubs a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday in the opening game of a doubleheader.

Johnson’s first homer of the season came off Luke Gregerson (0-1), the fifth Padres pitcher.

The Cubs led 1-0 when starting pitcher Matt Garza left after six innings. He scattered six hits and walked three while striking out nine — and even scored the Cubs’ first run, on a single by Marlon Byrd in the third inning.

The Padres tied the game in the ninth against closer Carlos Marmol, when Cameron Maybin walked, stole second and went to third on a bunt single by Will Venable. Maybin scored on Josh Barlett’s sacrifice fly.

Reliever Jeff Samardzija (1-0) worked two innings for the victory.

Chicago missed a chance for more runs in the third inning. After Garza scored, the Cubs loaded the bases with two outs when Aramis Ramirez walked. Carlos Pena grounded out to end the inning, leaving the Cubs clinging to a 1-0 lead.

The Padres threatened in the sixth when Garza walked the bases loaded with one out, but he escaped the jam by getting Brad Hawpe to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Cubs manager Mike Quade pulled Garza after six innings and employed three relief pitchers in the seventh to prevent the Padres from scoring. Left-hander Sean Marshall walked Orlando Hudson to load the bases with two outs before getting Chase Headley to ground out with a full count.

After the Padres tied it in the ninth, Mike Adams gave up a two-out single to the Cubs’ Kosuke Fukudome, ending a streak of 28 consecutive batters retired.

San Diego loaded the bases with one out in the 11th, but Headley and Hundley each flied out to end the threat.

The Cubs left 10 men on base while the Padres stranded 16.

NOTES: Fukudome was out of the starting lineup, but the outfielder entered the game in the seventh in right field. His wife delivered a baby girl, the couple’s second child, on Tuesday in Chicago … Tuesday’s rainout was the first of the season for either team. Conditions on Wednesday were overcast and dry with temperatures in the 40s. … With a Thursday home game with Philadelphia, the Padres planned a quick departure from Chicago following the conclusion of Wednesday’s doubleheader. … Cubs leadoff batter Starlin Castro, who came into the game leading the majors with 29 hits, went 0 for 4.