SAN DIEGO (AP) — Colin Rea was done well before the finish Monday night.
The right-hander got hit hard early in the worst start of his brief career, and the San Diego Padres were trounced 13-4 by the Miami Marlins.
Rea was tagged for eight runs, six earned, and nine hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out four, but that did little to erase all the other embarrassing numbers.
“Physically, I felt good,” Rea said. “It just seemed like every time I threw it over the plate, they were aggressive.”
Going into his outing, Rea (3-3) had been pitching fairly well. Over his previous 10 starts he was 3-2 with a 4.17 ERA, with opponents batting only .237 against him.
Then came the meltdown against Miami.
“If you don’t execute your pitches with guys at this level, they’re going to hurt you,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “Colin had a few opportunities with some two-strike counts and he couldn’t finish the at-bat on them and that hurts, too.”
Adeiny Hechavarria drove in four runs, Martin Prado homered and the Marlins broke loose despite resting sore slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
Ichiro Suzuki had three of Miami’s season-high 19 hits, leaving him one shy of equaling Pete Rose’s total of 4,256 — the big league record. The 42-year-old outfielder has 2,977 hits in the majors after compiling 1,278 during his nine seasons in Japan.
“It’s been fun to watch,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Suzuki’s quest to catch Rose.
Mattingly, however, declined to say if the left-handed-hitting Suzuki would be in the lineup Tuesday against lefty starter Drew Pomeranz.
“We’re trying to win ballgames, too,” the manager said with a smile.
Miami built an 8-1 cushion by the third inning and eased to its third win in five games.
Wei-Yin Chen (4-2), who had never faced the Padres, allowed four solo homers and seven hits in six innings. He struck out seven and won for just the second time in eight starts.
The Marlins, who scored their most runs this season, seized control with a seven-run third, sending 12 batters to the plate in chasing Rea.
“I think Colin just kind of caught the middle of the zone a little too much,” Green said.
The big blow was a bases-loaded triple by Hechavarria over Jon Jay’s head in center field. The drive was set up when second baseman Adam Rosales botched a potential inning-ending double play by dropping Yangervis Solarte’s throw from third. That let Justin Bour score and extended the inning.
The outburst also included Prado’s two-run shot off Rea, his second homer of the season.
“We didn’t help him out,” Green said. “The first thing you look at is that third inning.”
Rea, however, said the blame was all his.
“One play is not going to win or lose any game,” he said. “I know I wasn’t making my pitches before that and then I wasn’t making pitches after that. There are other things that come into play other than just that one play.”
Matt Kemp homered in the third, drawing the Padres to 8-2. They got no closer in losing for the fourth time in five games.
Wil Myers hit his career-high 14th home run, going the opposite way to right field to tie the score at 1 in the second. Kemp followed with a one-out double but was stranded when Chen struck out Solarte and Derek Norris.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Marlins: Stanton was out of the lineup, and while he’s not completely over his recent sore right side, Mattingly said it was more of a “rest” day for the struggling Stanton and he will start on Tuesday.
Padres: RHP Andrew Cashner isn’t going to require an MRI on his sore right shoulder and neck area that put him on the disabled list Saturday. … OF Travis Jankowski left the game with a sprained right ankle.
UP NEXT
Marlins: RHP Tom Koehler (4-6, 4.36 ERA) faces the Padres for the second time in his career. Last year, Koehler beat San Diego by throwing seven scoreless innings.
Padres: Pomeranz (5-6, 2.44) seeks his eighth quality start in 13 outings when he faces Miami in the middle game of the series.
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