Padres blast three homers in win

SAN DIEGO – After backup catcher Hector Sanchez hit another big home run for the San Diego Padres, a Wally Pipp joke began making the rounds in the dugout, aimed at Austin Hedges.

Hedges isn’t in danger of losing his job, and probably will back behind the plate as soon as tonight. But Sanchez more than proved his reliability when he hit a three-run homer in the Padres’ 7-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

Corey Spangenberg also hit a three-run shot off Jeff Samardzija as the Padres took two of three in a matchup of two baseball’s worst teams.

Pipp, of course, took a day off for the New York Yankees in 1925 and Lou Gehrig began his streak of playing in 2,130 consecutive games, the big league record until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in 1995.

Hedges, who sat for two games as a precaution after getting hit in the facemask with a foul ball Friday night, “is pretty safe,” manager Andy Green said.

“The good news is he was sensitive to it, so that means he has some mental clarity,” Green said. “So I think he’ll be out there soon.”

Sanchez hit a no-doubt, tworun walk-off homer with one out in the ninth inning of Saturday night’s 5-3 win.

His homer Sunday bounced off the top of the short wall in right-center with one out in the first. Spangenberg’s shot went to straightaway center with one out in the third.

It was the fifth homer for Sanchez, who has only nine hits this season, and the sixth for Spangenberg.

The Giants remain mired in last place in the NL West and Samardzija (4-11) is tied with Colorado’s Tyler Chatwood for the most losses in the NL. He allowed seven runs on nine hits in six innings while striking out eight and walking none.

“I think it’s more of a momentum thing than a talent-personnel thing,” Samardzija said team’s woes.

San Francisco scored its run off Trevor Cahill (4-3) on consecutive doubles by Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford in the second. Cahill went 6 ⁄ innings to get his first win since May 8. He spent a month and a half on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.

First baseman Brandon of the Belt was scratched a few hours before first pitch. Buster Posey moved from catcher to first base, Nick Hundley caught and Hunter Pence moved from No. 6 in the order to third.

San Francisco returns home to open a three-game series against Cleveland tonight. LHP Matt Moore (3-9, 6.04) is scheduled to start.