Justin Turner hit a solo homer and drove in another run with a single as the Toronto Blue Jays won for the fifth time in six games, beating the San Diego Padres 5-1 on Friday night.
“The quality of at-bats have significantly spiked, one through nine,” Turner said of the offence during the Blue Jays' winning streak. “Anytime you can get their starter out of the game in the fourth inning, fifth inning and you get to face their longer (relief) guys, that is a pretty good sign you are going to have some success.”
Toronto reliever Bowden Francis (2-2) picked up the win, allowing one hit and no runs in two innings.
"Really good night, homer to center is tough here," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Turner. “Kind of set the tone for us there. He continues to have really good at-bats.”
San Diego starter Matt Waldron (0-2) took the loss. The 27-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Padres, who had won five of their last seven games before Friday, are 0-4 in Waldron’s starts this season.
Turner, who was hardily booed by Padres fans due to being a former member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, blasted a solo homer in the first inning before the Blue Jays broke the game open in the second, scoring four runs off Waldron. The key blows in the inning were a two-run double by Kevin Kiermaier and a run-scoring single by Turner.
“I didn't expect anything less, honestly,” Turner said of the boos. “It is a good thing, right? It means you have done some good things before in this stadium.”
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Toronto's Yariel Rodriguez, making his second start, pitched well in a no-decision. The 27-year-old righty gave up three hits and one run while striking out seven over four innings.
“I was more relaxed, I threw my game today,” Rodriguez said through a translator about how his second start differed from his first game. “I feel very strong.”
Rodriguez, who in 2023 pitched for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic but did not play professionally, gave up a solo homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the third inning.
“I think the splitter was really good today. ... A lot of swing and miss,” Schneider said of Rodriguez. “I thought he was outstanding.”
The Blue Jays outslugged the Padres, finishing with an 11-5 advantage in hits. San Diego was unable to take advantage of several scoring opportunities.
“I thought we put some really good at-bats to be able to drive him out (of the game)," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “We just weren’t able to cash in.”
San Diego's Manny Machado had his 11-game hitting streak halted, going 0 for 4.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: LHP Ricky Tiedemann (club’s No. 1 prospect) had an MRI on his elbow on Thursday and was placed on the seven-day injured list at Triple-A Buffalo. The team is waiting for the MRI results. ... OF George Springer was not in the starting lineup due to illness.
Padres: 1B Jake Cronenworth returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games because of right leg soreness. After an off-day on Thursday, Cronenworth passed all tests in pregame drills.
UP NEXT
The Blue Jays will send RHP Jose Berrios (3-0, 1.05) to the mound in the second game of the series on Saturday. The Padres will start RHP Randy Vásquez (0-0), who was just called up from Triple-A El Paso, where he had a 7.94 ERA in three starts this season.
