EditorsNote: fixes "Suarez" in 12th graf; tweaks fifth, 10th grafs and 13th grafs
Francisco Mejia hit a go-ahead home run in the fourth inning, and closer Kirby Yates worked out of a ninth-inning jam as the San Diego Padres defeated the host Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Monday night.
In a 1-1 game, Mejia gave the visitors their second lead when he blasted the first pitch he saw from Reds starter Trevor Bauer -- an 84 mph cutter -- and bounced it off the right field foul pole for his seventh homer, a solo shot.
Josh VanMeter had an RBI single off Yates in the ninth to make it 3-2, but the closer induced a fielder's choice to retire the potential tying run in a rundown between third and home for the second out.
After plunking Jose Iglesias to load the bases, Yates fanned Eugenio Suarez with a 1-2 splitter for his 36th save in 39 chances and his third save in three days.
Greg Garcia was 2-for-4 with two runs, and Manny Machado had an RBI single for the Padres, who have won four of their past five games.
San Diego relievers Luis Perdomo (2-3), Trey Wingenter and Craig Stammen combined to keep the Reds scoreless for four innings.
Freddy Galvis went 2-for-4 and slugged his 20th homer, while Jose Peraza and Tucker Barnhart each had two hits for Cincinnati, which is 2-7 in its past nine contests.
Bauer (10-10) allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits and one walk over seven innings, but the right-hander still struck out 11 in the loss.
The first three Padres raced base against Bauer in the first inning, with Machado ripping a 3-0 pitch to center to score Garcia.
Galvis knotted it at 1-1 in the second when he belted a 2-2 fastball from Padres starter Eric Lauer over the wall in center.
A late insertion into the lineup after Nick Senzel (elbow) was scratched, Galvis hit his second homer since joining the Reds after being put on waivers by Toronto one week ago.
Cincinnati threatened to take its first lead in the third, but Suarez was cut down easily at home by left fielder Josh Naylor to end the inning after Peraza's sharp single.
Following Mejia's homer, San Diego boosted the lead to 3-1 in the fifth. Naylor's two-out fly ball to left was misplayed by Peraza, allowing Garcia to score an unearned run.
Padres manager Andy Green pulled Lauer after an 86-pitch, four-inning start. Lauer yielded one run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
--Field Level Media
