SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — The San Diego Padres scored three runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth to pull away from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a 9-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at PETCO Park. San Diego improved to 91-71, while Arizona fell to 87-76. The game took 2:47 and drew 44,471. Griffin Canning earned the win for San Diego, and Justin Martinez took the loss for Arizona. Canning is 5-9 this season, while Martinez is 3-1. The Padres finished with 11 hits, and the Diamondbacks had eight.

Randy Vásquez turned in the strongest start of the afternoon for San Diego, working six innings and allowing one earned run on three hits with two strikeouts. He left with the lead and was the Padres’ top star. In his previous two appearances, Vásquez had allowed three earned runs over 2 2/3 innings at Colorado and pitched two scoreless innings against Miami. Arizona starter Michael Soroka was nearly as effective for much of his outing, pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing three earned runs on three hits with two walks and four strikeouts. He kept the Diamondbacks close before the bullpens took over.

The Padres opened the scoring in the third. Sung-Mun Song walked, moved to second on Jase Bowen’s sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on Dustin Harris’ groundout. Manny Machado then lined a single to left field that scored Song. San Diego added to its lead in the fourth when Gavin Sheets homered to center field, his 17th home run of the season. In the fifth, Dustin Harris singled, Samad Taylor singled and Ty France followed with a run-scoring single to left that brought home Harris. The Padres led 3-0 after five innings, and Vásquez had retired the side in order in the second, third, fourth and fifth.

Arizona finally broke through in the sixth. James McCann flew out to right field before Jordan Lawlar singled on a sharp line drive to left. Lars Nootbaar grounded out to move Lawlar to third, and Ketel Marte lined a single to right field that scored Lawlar. Geraldo Perdomo then lined out to right, ending the inning. The Diamondbacks had cut the deficit to 3-1, but San Diego answered in the bottom half. Austin Hays singled, Jake Cronenworth was hit by a pitch, and Freddy Fermin doubled to left field to score Hays. The Padres carried a 4-1 lead into the seventh.

Arizona responded with a three-run rally in the top of the seventh to tie the game. Nolan Arenado doubled to left, and Corbin Carroll doubled to center to score Arenado. Pavin Smith struck out, but Tim Tawa singled to center to drive in Carroll. James McCann singled to right, and after Jordan Lawlar grounded into a force out, Lars Nootbaar singled sharply to center to score Tawa. Ketel Marte lined out to right to end the inning, but the Diamondbacks had evened the score at 4-4.

San Diego reclaimed the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh. Ty France walked, Luis Campusano walked and Austin Hays walked to load the bases. Jake Cronenworth then drew a bases-loaded walk that forced in France. Freddy Fermin followed with a two-run single to left field that scored Campusano and Hays. The three-run inning gave San Diego a 7-4 advantage. Canning, who had allowed Arizona’s tying runs in the top of the seventh, eventually earned the win. He pitched three innings of relief and allowed three earned runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

The Padres added insurance in the eighth. Dustin Harris singled to center, Samad Taylor struck out and Ty France singled to left. After Luis Campusano grounded out to move both runners into scoring position, Austin Hays singled sharply to center field to score Harris and France. Jake Cronenworth struck out swinging to end the inning, but San Diego had built a 9-4 lead. Hays finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, France was 2-for-4 with one RBI, and Fermin went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Gavin Sheets was 1-for-2 with a home run and one RBI. For Arizona, Carroll was 1-for-3 with one RBI, while Kevin Ginkel and Brandyn Garcia each provided scoreless relief. Ginkel worked 2/3 of an inning with one hit and one strikeout, and Garcia pitched one inning with one hit and one strikeout.

Arizona’s bullpen could not hold the tie in the seventh. Justin Martinez was charged with the loss after the Padres’ decisive rally. The Diamondbacks had won the series opener before dropping the next two games, including a 10-7 defeat in the previous meeting. Arizona had been playing well before the series, winning three straight at Colorado and taking two of three from the New York Yankees at home. The Diamondbacks had also won five of seven entering the weekend. San Diego continued its strong late-season form and will host the Chicago Cubs next. The Padres had won four of six before Sunday and remained in position to finish with one of the best records in the National League. The teams had split their previous meetings this season, and San Diego’s victory gave it another important win in the head-to-head series.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Arizona 9, San Diego 7. Interstat’s ELO system had given San Diego a 56.6 percent probability to win. Arizona had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 13 went under the over/under line of 8.5. The result defied the simulator’s projection, as San Diego’s late offense and bullpen work delivered the victory.