PADRES: Edmonds punishes former teammates in Chicago win

By DAN HAYES - Staff Writer | Monday, June 2, 2008 10:56 PM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- With Chicago's Jim Edmonds in town Monday night, the Padres had an opportunity to view their center fielder present versus center fielder past.

Twenty-four days after he was unceremoniously released by the Padres ---- a move that marked the end to a disappointing stay for the team's biggest offseason acquisition ---- Edmonds made a triumphant return to Petco Park as the Cubs won a 7-6 decision in front of 30,259.

The veteran had a pair of RBI doubles as Chicago's powerful offense, a lineup with no easy outs and a baseball-best 324 runs scored, knocked Padres pitchers around for 14 hits.

Edmonds' 2-for-4 performance gave him seven hits in his past 11 at-bats with seven RBIs and raised his overall average to .208. In 90 at-bats with the Padres, Edmonds hit .178 with six RBIs.

"I'm glad just trying to play my game," Edmonds said. "I have the capability of playing better than I have. I'm just trying to put it together. I was trying to do that the whole year. I'm just trying to prove myself. ... Like winning, you have to do that all year."

But if the Padres have any lingering doubts whether or not they made the right decision to release Edmonds, new center fielder Jody Gerut continues to silence those concerns.

In the three-plus weeks since he's taken over as the team's regular center fielder, the younger, more athletic Gerut has often displayed the ability to cover substantially more ground than Edmonds proved capable of during his 26-game stint.

True to form, Gerut demonstrated those skills in the second inning. With a runner at second, Gerut took extra bases away from Mark DeRosa with a leaping catch in the gap.

"He's doing well," manager Bud Black said. "The more he's out there, the more acclimated he's getting. He's working hard with (coach Rick Renteria) and it's starting to pay off. He's made plays going to his left and back-handing the ball."

After nearly three years away from baseball and two anterior cruciate ligament surgeries, one on each knee, Gerut is beginning to put the ball in play as well.

The 30-year-old Gerut went 1-for-2 on Monday with three walks to raise his average to .250. His first-inning single extended his season-best hit streak to seven games, and he's 10-for-28 (.357) during that stretch, highlighted by last Thursday's game-winning three-run home run against Washington.

Gerut's leadoff single against Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano, which was misplayed by left fielder Alfonso Soriano, got the Padres rolling against a pitcher who has given them fits in each of his previous eight starts.

Following a one-out walk to Brian Giles, Adrian Gonzalez continued his hot streak with a single to right to give the Padres a 1-0 lead. Kevin Kouzmanoff followed that with a steamroller to right-center field, as his shot got past Edmonds and to the fence for a two-run triple.

Kouzmanoff's shot gave the Padres their first three-run inning against Zambrano since they achieved the feat on July 31, 2002, in Zambrano's first outing against them. But he struck out Michael Barrett and got Khalil Greene to pop out to end the threat; an inning later, he ended another rally with a pickoff of Gerut at second base.

From there, the Padres' offense went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position until Gonzalez launched a three-run home run off Carlos Marmol in the ninth inning. The Padres finished 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and nine men left on.

Behind Edmonds and Kosuke Fukudome ---- an outfielder the Padres heavily pursued this offseason, only to lose a bidding war ---- the Cubs had no such difficulty against Cha Seung Baek (1-1), who was making his first National League start.

Fukudome gave the Padres a good understanding of why they tried in vain to sign him, as he reached base in three of five trips and displayed his speed when he got there. The Japanese star finished 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs and an RBI.

Hours after he said his stay ended on a "disappointing" note, but that the organization treated him fairly, Edmonds wreaked havoc against his former team. His fourth-inning double scored Fukudome, who had walked, to cut the Padres' lead to 3-2, and he scored on Zambrano's triple ---- the first of three hits for the pitcher.

Several innings later, Edmonds, who showed improved bat speed on the fastball, ripped a run-scoring double off reliever Mike Adams to give Chicago a 7-3 lead.

"He got a couple of balls up in the zone," Black said of Edmonds. "He swung the bat well tonight."

Contact staff writer Dan Hayes at dhayes@nctimes.com.

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