Ty France homered and knocked in two runs Wednesday night while JP Sears pitched effectively in his first major league start of the year as the San Diego Padres completed a sweep of the Atlanta Braves with a 5-2 victory.
Sears logged a 7.92 ERA in 14 starts at Triple-A El Paso but sailed through the Atlanta order until Joey Bart drilled a two-run homer in the top of the sixth. That knocked Sears out after 5 2/3 innings, five hits and two runs with two walks and five strikeouts.
San Diego’s bullpen locked the result down. David Morgan fired 1 1/3 scoreless innings before Wandy Peralta pitched the eighth and Jason Adam worked the ninth for his second save.
Martin Perez (6-4) absorbed the loss in the shortest of his 12 starts this year. Perez yielded four hits and three runs in four-plus innings, walking four and fanning four.
France initiated scoring in the third when he cracked his ninth homer of the year. Picking on a low changeup, France belted a 417-foot shot into the second deck in left.
That marked the first of four straight innings in which the Padres scored. They put the leadoff man aboard in all four innings, including the fourth when Manny Machado walked and eventually came around to score on France’s sacrifice fly.
Xander Bogaerts upped the lead to 3-0 in the fifth on an RBI single to center that scored Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis coaxed a leadoff walk, advanced to second on Samad Taylor’s bunt single and orchestrated a double steal with Taylor.
Bart’s third homer of the year came with Austin Riley aboard after a walk and drew the Braves within 3-2. But San Diego got two crucial runs in its half of the sixth on Taylor’s two-run single to right.
The Padres outhit Atlanta 7-6, drew six walks and swiped four bases.
