Lauer, Hedges help Padres beat sliding D-Backs

Eric Lauer limited Arizona to a run over five innings, Austin Hedges homered for the first time since April 10 and the San Diego Padres opened a four-game series in the desert with a 6-3 victory over the slumping Diamondbacks on Thursday night.

The Diamondbacks fell to 1-6 in what will be a 10-game homestand and dropped into a virtual tie with the idle Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. Arizona had been alone in first since June 8.

Wil Myers drove in two runs with a triple and single, and Carlos Asuaje reached base four times – a triple, RBI single and two walks – for the last-place Padres, winners for only the fourth time in 17 games.

Shelby Miller (0-3) was better in his third start coming off Tommy John surgery, but still got the loss, allowing five runs – three earned – and five hits in 51⁄3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two.

Arizona’s Ketel Marte hit a two-run homer off Matt Strahm in the eighth.

Lauer, a 23-year-old left-hander, gave up seven hits, walked two and hit a batter, but only one of those baserunners managed to score in his first win in four starts.

Brad Hand gave up an infield single, then struck out the next three in the ninth for his 24th save in 28 opportunities.

Miller, who had allowed 11 runs and 15 hits in 82⁄3 innings during his first two starts back from the surgery, got off to a rocky start in the first inning when the second batter, Asuaje, tripled to deep center and scored on Myers’ single.

But the Arizona right-hander settled down, blanking the Padres for three innings before Hedges’ line shot into the left-field seats put San Diego up 2-1 in the fifth.

Arizona had tied it at 1 in the second when Marte led off with a double and scored on Jake Lamb’s opposite-field single.

An error by usually sure-handed shortstop Nick Ahmed led to two unearned runs in San Diego’s three-run sixth. Asuaje led off with a walk and scored when Myers tripled to deep right-center.