per game while losing five of the past six contests. The run defen

SAN DIEGO -- The name and face are familiar but its a different Clayton Richard pitching for the San Diego Padres.Richard was sharp for six-plus innings and Wil Myers homered as San Diego defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Monday night.The win in the matchup between the NL Wests worst teams elevated the Padres into a fourth-place tie with Arizona.Richard (3-3) won his third straight decision, charged with two runs and six hits. He struck out two and walked two.I feel like Im better now than I have been in my career, Richard said.Arizona manager Chip Hale was impressed.He did a good job, pitched in, used his changeup and his breaking ball well, he said.Richard, in his second stint with the Padres, has resurrected his career as a starter. Used mostly by the Chicago Cubs as a reliever the last two years, Richard has allowed two runs or less in six of his seven starts with the Padres.Once a strikeout pitcher coming straight over the top, Richard now pitches from the stretch and with a three-quarter delivery. Since San Diego acquired Richard on waivers on Aug. 6 hes become the teams most consistent starter.I didnt have expectations when I can here, Richard said. I just wanted the opportunity to get on a big-league mound and show what I could do.Brandon Maurer pitched the ninth for his 11th save in 13 chances as the Padres snapped a three-game losing streak.Braden Shipley (4-4), who had won three of his last four starts, was gone after four innings. Shipley surrendered three runs -- two earned -- and six hits with three strikeouts.I just didnt feel like I had the command that I normally do, especially with my offspeed stuff, he said.Richard wasnt in trouble until the seventh when Kyle Jensens triple scored Yasmany Tomas. Philip Gosselin drove in Jensen with an infield hit when Richard was late covering first base on a grounder to the right side.Brad Hand relieved Richard and induced pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks to hit into an inning-ending double play.Brad came into a difficult situation with the momentum going and he stopped it, said Richard, who lowered his ERA as a starter to 1.71.The Padres scored three times in the fourth inning.Myers solo blast started the rally, coming on an elevated outside 93 mph fastball. He went the opposite way over the fence in right field for his 26th homer of the season and a franchise-record 16th at Petco Park.The big thing for me is to stay on the fastball, Myers said. To hit it the other way is good. I wasnt late. I was trying to work the ball that way.Alexi Amarista, who had two hits, followed with a two-run single to left, pushing the Padres ahead 3-0. It came after Derek Norris liner ricocheted off shortstop Chris Owings glove for an error.Padres general manager A.J. Preller started his 30-day suspension for breaking Major League Baseballs protocol for medical record-keeping on Monday.TRAINERS ROOMDiamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock (strained groin) ran for the first time since getting hurt on Sept. 9.Padres: OF Jabari Blash (sprained finger), who has been out since Aug. 19, could rejoin the team at the end of the week.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: RHP Archie Bradley (7-9, 5.07) has produced three quality starts in his last five outings, going 3-1 with a 5.19 ERA. He has split his two decisions in three starts against the Padres.Padres: RHP Paul Clemens (3-5, 4.94) has dropped three of his last four starts, but the win came in his last one. He threw five innings of scoreless ball when the Padres blanked the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 12. Milwaukee Brewers Gear . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Milwaukee Brewers Shirts . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/ . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Milwaukee Brewers Store . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Brewers Jerseys 2020 . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. BERKELEY, Calif. -- Stanfords midseason slump is becoming a distant memory now that Christian McCaffrey is healthy once again and the 24th-ranked Cardinal are finishing the season in typical fashion with another Big Game win.McCaffreys 90-yard touchdown run highlighted a record-setting 284-yard rushing performance that led Stanford to its seventh straight win in the rivalry game, 45-31 over California on Saturday.After struggling to move the ball at all during a stretch of three losses in four games back in October when McCaffrey was slowed by an undisclosed injury, the Cardinal (8-3, 6-3 Pac-12) have hit their stride late in the season.Weve definitely had some ups and downs, McCaffrey said. To see where we are now gives us a lot of hope going into each week knowing that we can play and get into a rhythm and really hurt some people in the run game.McCaffrey broke his own single-game rushing record at Stanford of 243 yards and the Big Game record of 226 yards set by Cals Joe Igber in 2002 to help the Cardinal (8-3, 6-3 Pac-12) keep the coveted Axe with yet another win over their rival.Stanford matched the longest win streak in the rivalry that dates back to 1892. The Cardinal also won seven straight against Cal (4-7, 2-6) from 1995-2001.Any time you win the Big Game, its a fun one, not only for this team but for this school, quarterback Keller Chryst saidDavis Webb threw for 393 yards and two touchdowns and Tre Watson ran for two scores for the Golden Bears, who are assured of a fifth losing season in the past six years and will miss out on a bowl bid unless there are not enough six-win teams to fill all the slots.Our margin of error is very slim, Webb said. The games we win we dont really mess up, and the games we lose we mess up. Its not that hard. We just have to get better.The game started well for Cal, which stopped Stanford on the opening drive and then scored on its first offensive play on a 70-yard pass from Webb to Chad Hansen.Stanford tied the game two plays later on a 16-yard run by Chryst and took control early in the third quaarter when McCaffrey burst through the middle for his long touchdown run that was one of his three scoring runs in the game.ddddddddddddThat was the big momentum thing at that point, Cal coach Sonny Dykes said. Stanford had the momentum and we just never seemed to be able to get it back.THE TAKEAWAYStanford: The biggest reasons for Stanfords turnaround have been a healthy McCaffrey, who has rushed for 787 yards and scored 10 TDs in a four-game winning streak, and Chryst. After struggling early on as Ryan Burns replacement, Chryst has been much improved of late. He threw for 198 yards and two TDs against Cal, giving him 456 yards passing and five touchdowns the past two weeks.California: After a promising start to the season with two wins over ranked teams, the Bears are headed for another losing campaign because of the same problems that have plagued the program ever since Dykes took over as coach in 2013. The defense has struggled to stop anyone, allowing 51.3 points per game while losing five of the past six contests. The run defense, which came into the game ranked second to last in FBS allowing 283.4 yards per game, was even worse against McCaffrey and the Cardinal. Stanford finished with 357 yards.LONG RUNSMcCaffrey has scored on long runs the past two weeks, following up his 61-yarder at Oregon with the 90-yarder this week as Stanford has taken advantage of defenses stacking the box to stop the run.If we can secure those guys and get him through the first level, hes got a clear path to the end zone, Coach David Shaw said. Strike up the band and bring on the PAT.BIG RECEIVERCals 310-pound fullback Malik McMorris got involved in the passing game for the first time. He caught a short pass and rumbled for a 20-yard gain to set up one TD and added a 6-yard catch later in the game.UP NEXTStanford: Host Rice on Saturday to finish the regular season.California: Host UCLA on Saturday to finish the regular season. ' ' '