Buchholz pitched a five-hitter, David Peralta hit a three-run homer and the

SAN DIEGO (AP) — For a player who was without a job in April http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , Clay Buchholz is performing like a mainstay.Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Diego Padres 5-1 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.A minor league free agent signing in May, Buchholz (6-2) allowed a leadoff double to Travis Jankowski but retired the next 13 batters he faced. Hunter Renfroe homered in the eighth before Buchholz retired the side in the ninth en route to his 10th career complete game and his first since 2015.“It felt good,” Buchholz said. “It has been a little bit since I threw a complete game. I didn’t have my changeup, so to do that when you only have a couple of pitches to go to was pretty special.”Buchholz struck out six and did not walk a batter in improving to 3-0 in three career starts at Petco Park. He has won five of his last six starts.“I felt like we had a little bit of a cushion and we could make that decision to stretch him out a little bit,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I told him he was on a short leash before the ninth inning started and he said he felt really good. The shape of his pitches and the command of his pitches to the first batter told me he was OK.”Lovullo was a coach with the Red Sox when Buchholz emerged as a promising young pitcher and threw a no-hitter in his second career start.“We hoped this is what we would get from him,” Lovullo said. “From the first bullpen session, we knew there was still something special left in him.”Arizona staked Buchholz to an early lead. Peralta belted a 3-0 pitch from Jacob Nix into the center-field seats as part of a five-run first. Alex Avila added a two-run single in the inning.“I don’t think I’ve done that on a 3-0 pitch before. I just took a chance,” Peralta said. “It went well and we got the lead early, which is good. You have to find ways to win, and Buchholz did an unbelievable job.”In his second major league start, Nix (1-1) allowed the first five Arizona batters to reach base and was removed from the game after hitting Jon Jay. Nix gave up five runs on five hits and walked five with one strikeout.“Sometimes there’s a learning process involved, especially as quickly as we’ve brought him and a couple other guys here,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “He has good stuff. He’s going to throw well.”Kazuhisa Makita replaced Nix to finish the first and pitched three more scoreless innings for his longest career outing.“I gave up a couple soft hits and walked a couple guys after I got a little frustrated, and next thing you know I was out of the game Brad Hand Jersey ,” Nix said. “Everybody in here has had tough days, and it’s part of it. It’s not my first, not my last, and I’m not the last guy it’s going to happen to.”Arizona has won its last five games at Petco Park. The complete game is Arizona’s second of the season. Patrick Corbin tossed a complete game on April 17 against San Francisco.TRAINER’S ROOMDiamondbacks: 3B Jake Lamb had successful surgery on his left shoulder on Thursday. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said the surgery went as expected and Lamb should be ready for spring training in 2019.Padres: RHP Trey Wingenter exited the game after a line drive struck him in the back.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (3-2, 4.83) takes the mound for the Arizona in the second of the four-game series. Ray has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his last four starts.Padres: LHP Joey Lucchesi (6-6, 3.45) gets the call for San Diego. Lucchesi had made three starts against Arizona this season and taken the loss each time. TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona went impotent on an important trip that came to a dreadful end Sunday, when Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp beat the Diamondbacks’ for the second straight game to flip the NL West standings.The Dodgers overtook the Diamondbacks for first place in the division by winning the final three games of a four-game series, capping Arizona’s punchless 2-5 trip, and Colorado moved into second place by one-half game.The Diamondbacks scored only 12 runs in the seven games and had a 20-inning scoreless drought in San Francisco. They hit five homers against the Dodgers but otherwise had trouble stringing hits together as they enter a two-game series against San Diego that begins Monday at Chase Field.Article continues below ...Arizona right-hander Zack Godley (14-7) is to oppose right-hander Bryan Mitchell (0-3) in the first game of the series.“It ebbs and flows at different times,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said of the offensive skid.“There are things that I would see improve. Everybody has the same discussion, and that’s hitting with men in scoring position and just being patient. There are times we don’t stay patient and remember the pressure is on the pitcher at all times. He has to execute and we are waiting for him to execute.“Some pitches are thrown to be hit and some pitches are not, and we have to remember that.”The Diamondbacks are ninth in the NL in runs scored after finishing in the top five in each of the previous seven seasons.Kemp hit a three-run homer off Archie Bradley in the eighth inning for a 3-2 victory Saturday, and he doubled in two runs on Bradley’s first pitch in the ninth inning for a 3-2 walkoff victory Sunday.“I’m a little upset right now,” Bradley told reporters http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-brad-hand-jersey , adding, “to our fans, don’t panic. It’s only one loss.”Arizona has scored more than three runs once in its last 10 games, failing to back its stellar starting pitching, and it may not get any easier.Following the San Diego series, the D-backs are to play 20 straight games against teams that are over .500 and seem certain to stay that way. They finish this homestand with a four-game series against Atlanta before seven-game road trip to Colorado and Houston.Daniel Descalso’s homer in the top of the ninth Sunday gave Arizona a 2-1 lead.“This loss stings a bit because we clawed our way back and took the lead,” Descalso told reporters. “There have been a lot of low-scoring games and that’s the way it is when it’s high stress and you’re in a pennant race. You’re not going to blow out too many teams.”San Diego won four of six games on its homestand last week, sweeping two games from Seattle and winning the first two games of a four-game set against Colorado over the weekend.Outfielder Hunter Renfroe hit two homers Saturday and has four homers and 10 RBIs in his last seven games while riding a career-high 10-game hitting streak. He has 19 homers, one behind Christian Villanueva for the team lead, despite spending six weeks in the minors earlier in the season.“In high school, college, the minor leagues you’re the dude,” Renfroe told the San Diego Union Tribune.“You’re hitting fourth, you’re supposed to drive in runs, you’re supposed to lead your team and do the best you can. I think that’s kind of coming into fruition right now where I’m just doing the best I can and stuff is kind of falling for me Tyson Ross Jersey , happening for me.”Godley, who has a 4.42 ERA, has won five of his last six decisions and has lost only once since July 1. He gave up two hits and one run in 7 2/3 innings in his most recent outing, a 3-1 victory at San Francisco last Wednesday.He has faced the Padres four times this season, once in relief in a 16-inning game July 8, and is 2-0 with a 4.67 ERA against them, with 24 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs in five innings in a no-decision in his most recent start, Aug. 18 at San Diego. He is 3-3 with a 5.23 ERA in 13 career appearances against San Diego.Mitchell, who has a 7.08 ERA, is to make his 13th appearance of the season, his eighth start. He has not pitched since a relief outing June 5, when he gave up five runs in 2 2/3 innings. He was reinstated from the disabled list last Saturday after missing tie with a right elbow impingement.He has never faced the Diamondbacks.“We’re still in discovery mode as far as what guys are going to be with us going forward,” San Diego manager Andy Green told the paper.“He’s got an opportunity to get back to the point where he is a part of our future. He’s going to have to pitch his way there. Nothing is going to be handed to him. We’re definitely going to give him the ball and the opportunity.”