Maybin homers in rain-shortened 7-3 loss to Royals

Well, the rain stayed away for long enough to get seven innings in the books. The Padres lost again, but that doesn't matter because, you know, spring. There were several small victories, and that's more along the lines of what spring is about.

Ian Kennedy started and pitched his scheduled two innings. He looked sharp... and also pitched well. Kennedy allowed a walk in the first and a double in the second, but both were stranded. It wasn't until the kids took over on the hill that all hell broke loose.

It was still a scoreless tie in the top of the third when Cameron Maybin hit a two-run shot for his, and the team's, first homer of the spring. The lead was short-lived, however, as Keyvius Sampson came in to replace Kennedy and coughed up four runs, all of which were earned. Sampson allowed a walk, three singles, and a double in his inning of work.

The Padres picked up another run in the fourth. Jedd Gyorko led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a single by Tommy Medica. Alexi Amarista drove him in with a single of his own to bring San Diego to within a run. With runners on the corners and no outs, tie ball or even the lead seemed like a possibility. A lineout and a double play later, it didn't. Adys Portillo came in for the Padres to pitch the bottom of the fourth and gave the Royals another three runs. That was the end of the scoring for the day, as both teams traded zeros in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings before rain, thunder, and lightning shut the whole affair down.

Highlights (that was such a good magazine!):

• Cameron Maybin: 1-2, HR, BB, 2 RBI
• Tommy Medica: 3-3
• Jedd Gyorko: 1-3, 2B, R
• Tony Sipp: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB
• Dale Thayer: 1 IP, 2 K, 0 H, 0 BB

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