Sports

Padres 6, Pirates 5

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Adrian Gonzalez homered to help the San Diego Padres earn a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who traded two of their best players shortly after the game started Friday night.

The Pirates pulled Xavier Nady after the first inning and announced they agreed to a trade involving the outfielder and reliever Damaso Marte. The club said the deal is pending physicals and didn't immediately announce the other team involved in the deal.

Josh Bard had two RBIs and former Pirate Brian Giles scored two runs for San Diego, which won for only the second time in 11 games.

Nady was in right field during the top of the first but was replaced by Jason Michaels in the field in the second.

Marte, one of the most coveted left-handed specialists in the game, was caught by television cameras hugging teammates in the dugout after leaving the bullpen.

Adam LaRoche hit two solo homers to reach 100 for his career and scored three runs for the Pirates, who had won four straight.

Kevin Kouzmanoff singled with one out in the fourth and Gonzalez followed with his 23rd homer, giving San Diego a 3-1 lead.

The Padres went ahead 5-2 in the sixth. Chase Headley singled in Giles and Bard drove in Gonzalez with a groundout.

Cha Seung Baek (3-4) allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings, winning for only the second time in nine starts for the Padres since being acquired from Seattle in May. Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save.

LaRoche went deep in the second and fourth for his eighth career multi-homer game and first this season. He has 14 homers this season.

Zach Duke (4-8) was charged with five runs and seven hits in six innings for the Pirates. He has lost his last three decisions and allowed 24 earned runs in his past 19 1-3 innings over four starts.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the sixth but lost out on an opportunity for more. Doug Mientkiewicz had a one-out RBI single and pinch-hitter Chris Gomez then singled in LaRoche.

Mientkiewicz was thrown out trying to advance to third on Gomez's hit, and the Padres also retired Gomez trying to reach second.

Kouzmanoff added an RBI single off Tyler Yates in the seventh.

The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth but only managed one run on pinch-hitter Jose Bautista's two-out walk. Heath Bell induced Jack Wilson into popping out to end the threat.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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