Finley, D'Backs Sink Padres

Maybe the San Diego Padres should have used camouflage balls when pitching to Steve Finley.

Finley hit a pair of two-run homers to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-4 win Thursday over the Padres, who wore camouflage jerseys and green hats to honor San Diego's large Navy and Marine Corps population.

But the Padres couldn't hide from anybody, least of all Finley, their center fielder from 1995-98 who joined the post-World Series exodus to sign with Arizona.

The Padres, who looked like they'd be at home playing a sandlot game at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, committed four errors, although they didn't contribute to any of the Diamondbacks' runs.

Finley's first homer came right after he had to jump out of the way of Hitchcock's pitch. He thought he got hit by the pitch, but teammates who watched a replay said it was the knob of his bat as he pulled it back. It was his 15th multihomer game. Finley has five homers this year and has a hit in all 10 games.

"I was feeling pretty good today," Finley said. "I hadn't felt comfortable in the box the last couple of days. I wasn't trying to hit home runs, I was putting good swings on balls and they went out."

Finley said he doesn't put any more emphasis on doing well against the Padres than against other teams.

"I've still got a lot of good friends over there and I wish them the best, except when we're playing them," Finley said.

Finley is 7-for-12 with three homers against Hitchcck in one-plus seasons.

"Basically it comes down to not executing two pitches to Finley," Hitchcock said. "I made two bad pitches and that was the ballgame."

Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter said Finley has been swinging well since the second week of spring training.

"He's gotten to the point in his career that not many people can get him out with pure stuff, he gets himself out," Showalter said.

Greg Colbrunn was aboard for both homers, drawing a leadoff walk in the fourth and hitting a leadoff double in the sixth.

After Finley's first homer, Bernard Gilkey hit a fly ball that center fielder Eric Owens appeared to have a bead on, but it bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double. Dan Klassen followed with an RBI single for a 3-0 lead.

Phil Nevin provided San Diego's first three runs on two homers off Brian Anderson (1-0). He had a two-run homer in the fourth and solo shot in the sixth, giving him five this season.

"When I hit the first homer, I had a pretty good idea of what he would do the next time," Nevin said.

Mike Morgan pitched two innings for his third save this season and sixth in 480 career appearances.

The Padres pulled to 3-2 just two pitches into the fourth. Owens hit a leadoff single to right and Nevin followed with an opposite-field homer to right.

San Diego pulled to 5-4 against Morgan in the eighth on Owens' RBI groundout.

Anderson won his seventh straight decision dating to last season. He allowed three runs and nine hits seven innings, struck out seven and walked none.

Hitchcock fell to 0-6 lifetime against Arizona, allowing five runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked two. The Padres have lost all three of Hitchcock's starts.

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