SAN DIEGO -- The name and face are familiar but its a different Clayton Richard pitching for the San Diego Padres.Richard was sharp for six-plus innings and Wil Myers homered as San Diego defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Monday night.The win in the matchup between the NL Wests worst teams elevated the Padres into a fourth-place tie with Arizona.Richard (3-3) won his third straight decision, charged with two runs and six hits. He struck out two and walked two.I feel like Im better now than I have been in my career, Richard said.Arizona manager Chip Hale was impressed.He did a good job, pitched in, used his changeup and his breaking ball well, he said.Richard, in his second stint with the Padres, has resurrected his career as a starter. Used mostly by the Chicago Cubs as a reliever the last two years, Richard has allowed two runs or less in six of his seven starts with the Padres.Once a strikeout pitcher coming straight over the top, Richard now pitches from the stretch and with a three-quarter delivery. Since San Diego acquired Richard on waivers on Aug. 6 hes become the teams most consistent starter.I didnt have expectations when I can here, Richard said. I just wanted the opportunity to get on a big-league mound and show what I could do.Brandon Maurer pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances as the Padres snapped a three-game losing streak.Braden Shipley (4-4), who had won three of his last four starts, was gone after four innings. Shipley surrendered three runs -- two earned -- and six hits with three strikeouts.I just didnt feel like I had the command that I normally do, especially with my offspeed stuff, he said.Richard wasnt in trouble until the seventh when Kyle Jensens triple scored Yasmany Tomas. Philip Gosselin drove in Jensen with an infield hit when Richard was late covering first base on a grounder to the right side.Brad Hand relieved Richard and induced pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks to hit into an inning-ending double play.Brad came into a difficult situation with the momentum going and he stopped it, said Richard, who lowered his ERA as a starter to 1.71.The Padres scored three times in the fourth inning.Myers solo blast started the rally, coming on an elevated outside 93 mph fastball. He went the opposite way over the fence in right field for his 26th homer of the season and a franchise-record 16th at Petco Park.The big thing for me is to stay on the fastball, Myers said. To hit it the other way is good. I wasnt late. I was trying to work the ball that way.Alexi Amarista, who had two hits, followed with a two-run single to left, pushing the Padres ahead 3-0. It came after Derek Norris liner ricocheted off shortstop Chris Owings glove for an error.Padres general manager A.J. Preller started his 30-day suspension for breaking Major League Baseballs protocol for medical record-keeping on Monday.TRAINERS ROOMDiamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock (strained groin) ran for the first time since getting hurt on Sept. 9.Padres: OF Jabari Blash (sprained finger), who has been out since Aug. 19, could rejoin the team at the end of the week.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: RHP Archie Bradley (7-9, 5.07) has produced three quality starts in his last five outings, going 3-1 with a 5.19 ERA. He has split his two decisions in three starts against the Padres.Padres: RHP Paul Clemens (3-5, 4.94) has dropped three of his last four starts, but the win came in his last one. He threw five innings of scoreless ball when the Padres blanked the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 12. Hydro Flask Clearance . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Hydro Flask 32 Oz Black Friday . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. http://www.waterbottlecybermonday.com/ . PAUL, Minn. Swell Bottle Cyber Monday . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Hydro Flask Black Friday . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Sebastian Giovinco ended his eight-game goalless drought in MLS competition in spectacular fashion last Saturday.He scored three goals, two from free kicks in the first half, in Toronto FCs 4-1 victory over D.C. United.The Atomic Ant has scored 11 times in league competition this season and he appears to be in top form for TFCs match against the Columbus Crew Sunday at BMO Field. He missed training Friday after he participated in the MLS All-Star Game midweek.According to Opta, Giovinco is the league leader in goals from free kicks since the sports data firm began recording them in 2010.The Crew (3-7-10) must play accordingly.It becomes management, Crew coach Gregg Berhalter told The Columbus Dispatch. It becomes, how do we not give up free kicks in dangerous areas? Because hes a guy that, if you give him a couple looks, he can hurt you.The approach this week in preparing for Giovinco has been heavily weighted toward video work, Berhalter said, because if you dont have anyone that can recreate Giovincos free kick, its going to be very difficult to practice that.This is the Italian forwards second season in MLS and the Crew has done a decent job of defendiing against him.dddddddddddd He has one goal and one assist in four games against Columbus.Toronto FCs lineup has been augmented even with the absence of midfielders Will Johnson and Michael Bradley and goalkeeper Clint Irwin, all out with injuries.TFC (7-7-6) signed Canadian international Tosaint Ricketts last week and he made his debut as a second-half substitute last Saturday against D.C. United. He nearly scored soon after his entrance to the game. Forward Jozy Altidore returned from a hamstring injury last Saturday and also was used as a second-half substitute. Altidore is expected to play about 45 minutes.Toronto is 4-1-3 at home this season and Columbus is 0-6-3 on the road.This will be the third and final meeting between the teams this season with the first two games ending in 0-0 and 1-1.Its been a cagey series with them so far, Toronto defender Drew Moor said on Friday. Its important for us to get off to a good start.At stake is The Trillium Cup, a trophy that goes to the winner of the season series between the teams. ' ' '
