PHOENIX -- The Padres’ Deadline deals are paying dividends.
Nestor Cortes pitched 4 2/3 innings in his first MLB start since April 3, Ryan O'Hearn tied the game with a ninth-inning home run and Mason Miller shut the door to earn his first save as a member of the Padres, as San Diego rallied to top the D-backs 3-2 at Chase Field on Wednesday night.
Those three were part of a massive Deadline haul just one week ago, and they’re already helping the club. The Padres have won two straight, and nine of their last 11, climbing to within two games of the NL West lead after the Dodgers dropped the finale to the Cardinals on Wednesday.
The way the Padres are playing, it looks like this group has been together for an extended period.
“These guys have fit in really well,” manager Mike Shildt said. “They’re professionals, and clearly helping us win games.”
Cortes had not started since throwing six shutout innings with the Brewers in early April, but was activated off the 60-day injured list (left elbow flexor strain) on Aug. 3 after multiple Triple-A rehab starts. He ultimately took a no-decision after allowing two runs in the game’s first two innings, but settled down after working his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning.
After that, he allowed just one baserunner until there were two outs in the fifth, when his night ultimately ended after issuing a pair of two-out walks. Reliever Jason Adam struck out Geraldo Perdomo to get out of the inning, though, preserving Cortes’ final stat line.
“He showed some moxie there, some veteran moxie,” Shildt said.
That veteran presence is one of the reasons why the Padres acquired him from the Brewers, and Cortes is expected to continue with big contributions. His cutter and four-seamer accounted for 78 percent of his pitches, and only one early mistake – a 93.3 mph four-seam fastball to Corbin Carroll – ended up in the seats.
His changeup baffled the opposition, generating three swings and two whiffs the six times he threw it.
“When you trade for new guys, you don’t know how the clubhouse is going to shake out and if everyone is going to blend in seamlessly,” Cortes said. “It looks like we have, and the support from the guys has been incredible.”
He’s not the only one who feels right at home, though.
O’Hearn’s 391-foot blast to right-center with one out in the ninth was yet another sign of how the new faces are making an immediate impact.
The 32-year-old had yet to record an RBI with his new club heading into Wednesday, but that all changed with one late-inning swing.
Shildt called it a “signature moment,” but O’Hearn was just relieved to help the new-look Padres win another game in a tight division race.
“It feels good to contribute and do something,” he said. “You get traded to a new team and you want to instantly contribute and be a big part of it, and it took me a few games, but I’m happy to do it tonight.”
Adam, Adrian Morejon and Miller shut the door after Cortes' exit, with the flamethrowing Miller earning his 21st save of the season. Moreover, all three outs he recorded in the ninth were strikeouts, and he exacted revenge on D-backs slugger Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who homered off a 103.9 mph fastball on Tuesday.
Miller got the last laugh on Wednesday, though, fanning Gurriel on a 90 mph slider.
“He got me yesterday, I got him today,” he said. “That’s baseball, and it’s why I love the game.”
The Padres head back to San Diego to begin a three-game set against the Red Sox, a precursor to 13 straight against divisional opponents. It’s a critical stretch coming up, and the new-look club is ready for whatever comes its way.
“It’s contagious, for sure,” Miller said. “Just feeding off of each other, and knowing that with this offense, and the professional at-bats these guys take every single inning, we’re not out of a game.”