Triple-A callup Neil Wagner came on in the seventh

SAN DIEGO -- A 21-game winner only two years ago, Ian Kennedy is starting to look more like his old self. Thats he doing it in San Diego has been a plus for the Padres. "Maybe I just needed a little change of scenery," said Kennedy, acquired in a trade from Arizona on July 31. "The coaching staff, the players, everyone has just made it really easy on me to feel comfortable." Kennedy beat an NL West opponent for the first time in 12 starts this season, pitching the Padres past the San Francisco Giants 4-1 Monday. Kennedy (6-9) gave up one run and five hits over six innings while striking out seven. He is 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA since arriving in San Diego. The right-hander improved to 1-5 with a 4.97 ERA in his starts against NL West teams this year. Huston Street worked a spotless ninth to earn his 26th save in 27 chances as the Padres snapped a three-game losing streak. "I felt like I could throw my fastball when I wanted to and when you work off that, that is how you have successful games," Kennedy said. Padres manager Bud Black noted that Kennedys strikes seldom got too much of the plate. "He got some fastballs in good spots and that was the key in a couple of big situations," Black said. "He had the fastball at the top of the zone and the fastball into the lefties, and the fastball away from them, too. His fastball was around the zone and that was what he had going today." "The changeup and curveball came into play, but not as much as weve seen him use it in other games. When he needed to throw a strike he did. When he needed an out, he got one." Barry Zito (4-11) lost his eighth straight decision. He has won only once in his last 20 starts. Zito was pulled after four innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks. He fell to 0-9 with a 10.00 ERA in his last 11 starts away from AT&T Park. "Its hard to narrow it down to one thing," Zito said of his road woes. "Normally the splits arent really that bad in one direction." Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Zito started well, then lost his command. "He threw well in the first inning," Bochy said. "Then he had trouble finding the strike zone there and that caused all the problems. Thats what did him in." Kennedy drew one of Zitos three walks in the second. Ronny Cedeno hit an RBI single and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs. Nick Hundley hit his career-high 11th home run in the fourth when Zito elevated an 80 mph slider. "He didnt get it to where he wanted to," said Hundley, who stroked his third career home run off of Zito, his most against any pitcher. "You dont want to miss those kind of mistakes because you dont get them very often." The Giants scored in the fifth on Brandon Belts double. With runners on second and third, Buster Posey hit a two-out liner that third baseman Logan Forsythe reached high to snag. In the eighth, the Giants had the tying run at the plate, but Sandoval and Crawford failed to produce against reliever Luke Gregerson. "That was a little tap dance there, no doubt," Black said of Gregersons performance. "Sandoval is always a tough out, no matter how he is swinging or what the numbers are. Luke threw him an offspeed pitch and he had a big swing and it only went a couple feet. That was great." NOTES: Bochy said RHP Matt Cain will start Saturday against the Rockies after he threw a 90-pitch bullpen session on Monday. Cain has been on the DL with a bruised right forearm. ... LHP Jeremy Affeldt was to throw in a simulated game on Tuesday and Bochy said the team will determine his path after that. Affeldt has missed 41 games with a left groin strain. ... Padres 1B Yonder Alonso will undergo a MRI exam Tuesday on his ailing right hand. ... Padres 3B Chase Headley remains out of the lineup with a sore back. ... The Padres recalled RHP Burch Smith from Triple-A Tucson. Willians Astudillo Twins Jersey . -- Jim Furyk was 10 shots worse and right where he wanted to be Saturday in the BMW Championship. Miguel Sano Jersey . The Sochi organizing committee said in Fridays statement that the torch relay reached the North Pole on Oct. 19. Russian Polar explorer Artur Chilingarov, who led the mission, lit a special bowl at the North Pole sign. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-jonathan-schoop-jersey/ . -- Pelicans coach Monty Williams does not expect guard Eric Gordon to play in any of New Orleans final five games this season. Jorge Polanco Jersey . Garcia had eight birdies overall to go with a lone bogey on the fourth to move to an 18-under total of 198 at the Asian Tour event. "I was able to hit some really nice shots and then was able to roll two or three really good putts in and it was nice to be able to finish birdie, birdie on this difficult finishing stretch," Garcia said. Paul Molitor Jersey .com) - Jeff Teague had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 90-85 on Saturday night. TORONTO -- When Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow is on his game, his stuff can be electric and will often leave opposing hitters handcuffed. He displayed that dominant form in a solid six-inning performance Wednesday night as Toronto defeated the Houston Astros 7-3 at Rogers Centre. Morrow struck out nine batters as the Blue Jays (5-4) locked up their first series win of the young season and moved over the .500 mark in the process. The veteran right-hander was hitting the high 90s with his fastball and retired the first nine batters in order, fanning six along the way. "He was throwing the crap out of the ball ... he was using all of his pitches really (well) and he gave us a real shot to win the game," said Toronto catcher Dioner Navarro. The Blue Jays staked Morrow to an early two-run lead and gave him a 5-0 cushion after five innings. The Astros battled back with three runs in the sixth before Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., provided some insurance with a two-run shot an inning later for his first homer of the season. "They stung us there and battled back and got within reaching distance there, so it was good to put us back on top and put it out of reach later in the game," Lawrie said. Melky Cabrera, Maicer Izturis and Navarro had two hits apiece as Toronto outhit the Astros 10-6. Morrow (1-1) struck out the side in the first inning. The Astros didnt put a man on base until the fourth, when leadoff man Dexter Fowler walked and moved to third on Jason Castros one-out single. That didnt faze Morrow -- he struck out cleanup man Jose Altuve and fanned Chris Carter to get out of the jam. "He was throwing a lot of split-fingers and sliders and we were kind of fishing at them," said Astros outfielder Alex Presley. Morrow allowed five hits and three earned runs in his first quality start since May 5th, 2013. It was the first time he had struck out at least nine batters in a game since an 11-strikeout performance against the Minnesota Twins on Oct. 3, 2012. "I thought he was very aggressive tonight and he had that look about him too," said Toronto manager John Gibbons. "I mean he was confident, but thats what hes capable of doing ... its something to build off of." Torontos timely hitting and some poor defensive play by the Astros hellped the Blue Jays score three runs in the fifth.ddddddddddddCabrera singled, stole second and scored on a single by Izturis. Jose Bautista walked and the runners advanced when Edwin Encarnacion grounded out weakly to the first-base side. After Adam Lind was intentionally walked to load the bases, Navarro hit a tailor-made double play ball to Matt Dominguez but the third baseman made an errant throw that allowed two runs to score. The Astros did all of their damage in the sixth inning. Fowler singled to centre and Presley followed with a two-run homer to deep right-centre field. Altuve tripled and scored when Carter grounded out. Encarnacion made a nice play at first base by short-hopping a chopper from Marc Krauss and stepping on the bag for the third out. In the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Goins reached on a walk but was later picked off by Williams. Gibbons came out to talk to the umpire but didnt challenge the call as the replays the Blue Jays saw were inconclusive. Triple-A callup Neil Wagner came on in the seventh inning and retired the Astros in order. Lawrie turned on a 2-1 pitch from Josh Zeid, who relieved Williams after he left the game due to a right groin strain. Toronto reliever Steve Delabar recorded one out in the ninth before taking a liner off his lower right leg. He limped off the field and was replaced by Esmil Rogers, who got the final two outs. Announced attendance was 13,569 and the game took three hours nine minutes to play. The Blue Jays will go for a sweep of the three-game series on Thursday night. Notes: Toronto ace R.A. Dickey (1-1) is scheduled to face Houston left-hander Dallas Keuchel (0-1) in the series finale. ... Before the game, the Blue Jays recalled Wagner from the Buffalo Bisons and optioned fellow right-hander Marcus Walden to the triple-A club. ... Izturis was moved from the No. 8 spot to the second position in the batting order. He went 2-for-3 to improve his batting average to .459. ... Toronto split a four-game series at Tampa Bay to open the season before dropping a weekend set to the New York Yankees. ... Delabar said he iced his leg after the game and would probably get the day off Thursday. ... Navarro stole a base in the seventh inning. It was his first steal since a game on Sept. 7, 2009 against the Yankees. ' ' '