Quick Hitters
Iannetta’s 7 RBIs lead D-Backs over Padres
PHOENIX — Chris Iannetta drove in a career high seven runs with a home run and a pair of doubles, and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the San Diego Padres 15-3 Thursday to finish a three-game sweep.
Iannetta hit a go-ahead, tworun homer off Clayton Richard (4-7) for a 4-3 lead in the fifth, a three-run double against Kevin Quackenbush in the sixth and a two-run double off Brandon Maurer in the eighth. Six of Iannetta’s eight home runs this season have tied the score or put the Diamondbacks ahead.
Arizona scored 10 runs with two outs, won its ninth straight at Chase Field and improved the best home record in the major leagues to 24-8. The Diamondbacks outscored the Padres 32-9 in the sweep, which extended San Diego’s losing streak to five.
Infielder Erick Aybar relieved after Maurer allowed four runs in the eighth, walked Daniel Descalso, then retired Brandon Drury on a flyout and got Jake Lamb to ground into a double play. Aybar made his big league mound debut April 18 when he retired Chris Herrmann on a groundout to end the top of the ninth in an 11-2 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Patrick Corbin (5-6) improved to 5-0 in six home starts, allowing three runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and three walks.
Richard gave up four runs and six hits in five innings.
San Diego’s first five hitters reached, and Austin Hedges’ tworun single put the Padres ahead. Chris Owings hit an RBI double in the bottom half and scored on Descalso’s bloop single, but Hunter Renfroe’s RBI double gave the Padres a 3-2 lead in the third.
Standout Oregon State pitcher has molestation case in past
PORTLAND, Ore. — Luke Heimlich, a standout pitcher for Oregon State’s top-ranked baseball team, pleaded guilty to a single count of molesting a 6-yearold girl when he was a teenager.
Heimlich’s criminal history was reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive on Thursday, a day or two before he’s slated to pitch in this weekend’s regional final against Vanderbilt. The winner advances to the College World Series.
The left-hander from Puyallup, Washington, is projected to be an early round pick in next week’s Major League Baseball draft. MLB spokesman Michael Teevan said the league had no comment.
In an editorial accompanying the article, the newspaper said it learned about Heimlich’s 2012 conviction while doing a routine background check before running a profile on him.
Heimlich failed to renew his registration as a sex offender in Oregon within 10 days of his most recent birthday and was cited in Benton County on a misdemeanor charge that was dismissed last month, according to court records reviewed by the AP.
That citation led The Oregonian to the Washington state case, and it obtained those records using a public information act request.
Heimlich did not respond to requests for comment from the newspaper. Beavers coach Pat Casey could not comment on the case. At practice Thursday, Casey told reporters that Heimlich was available to pitch, but he did not announce the rotation for the weekend.