Justin Turner homered and knocked in two runs Friday night as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays opened up a five-run lead in the second inning during a 5-1 win over the San Diego Padres.
Five Toronto pitchers teamed up on a five-hitter and fanned 14 as the team won for the fifth time in six games. Reliever Bowden Francis (2-2) got the win with two-plus scoreless innings after starter Yuriel Rodriguez fanned seven and allowed San Diego’s only run in four innings.
Matt Waldron (0-2) absorbed the loss for the Padres, permitting seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings. Waldron walked one and struck out two.
The outcome was decided early, and part of the reason was Turner, the former Los Angeles Dodger who spent years tormenting San Diego. His second homer of the year, a 404-foot drive to center in the first inning that just eluded Jackson Merrill’s leap at the wall, was his 26th career homer against the Padres — Turner’s most against any team.
His teammates joined the fun during a four-run second, scoring all the runs with two outs. Kevin Kiermaier ripped a two-run double to center that scored Danny Jansen and Cavan Biggio. After Bo Bichette beat out an infield hit, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Turner each collected RBI singles.
Rodriguez wiped out a spate of hitters with a lethal slider and made just one mistake with it. That happened in the third when Fernando Tatis Jr. banged one 390 feet into the left field seats for his sixth homer of the year.
San Diego managed just two baserunners for the game’s remainder with neither one making it past second. The Padres had their only other scoring chance in the second, when they got men to second and third with one out before Rodriguez induced a shallow fly ball from Tyler Wade and then fanned Kyle Higashioka.
Bichette, Guerrero, Turner and Jansen each collected two of the Blue Jays’ 11 hits. This was Toronto’s first visit to San Diego since 2013.
The Padres took their second loss in a row.
–Field Level Media
