Cameron blasts two homers as Padres rock Cubs

Padres 11, Cubs 3

CHICAGO (AP) -- This time, the big swings came at the plate.

Mike Cameron homered in his first two at-bats and the San Diego Padres knocked a season-high five in all in an 11-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

One day after a bench-clearing altercation, the Padres had no trouble connecting against the Cubs. Especially Cameron.

"It came across my mind, but I didn't get a chance to quite do it," Cameron said.

"It" was the possibility of hitting four in the game again, something he did against the White Sox for Seattle in May 2002. He'll take this, though.

Cameron hit a two-run shot to center in the first inning and followed Adrian Gonzalez's two-run drive in the third with a homer off Rich Hill (5-5) that made it 5-1. Khalil Greene added a three-run homer off Sean Gallagher in the fifth, and Rob Bowen hit a solo drive against Michael Wuertz in the eighth.

That was plenty for Greg Maddux (6-3), who allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings in his second start against the Cubs since they traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline last July. He struck out one and did not walk a batter in winning his 339th game.

"It was just one of those where you're kind of lucky that it's your day to pitch," Maddux said. "Sometimes it's not how you pitch, it's when you pitch."

Gonzalez went 4-for-5 and scored four runs, and Cameron had three hits, drove in three runs and scored three times as the NL West leaders won for the fourth time in five games. The Padres tied a season high for runs.

Hill lasted just three innings, allowing five runs and five hits in his shortest outing this season. The three home runs he allowed tied a career high set at Cincinnati in September, and all those big hits capped another wild weekend at Wrigley Field.

On Saturday, Carlos Zambrano took a no-hitter into the eighth and then gave up a home run to Russell Branyan in the ninth as the Padres beat the Cubs 1-0. San Diego's Chris Young also hit Derrek Lee on the wrist with a pitch in the game and Lee threw a punch at Young, igniting a bench-clearing altercation.

Lee, Young, Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry and Padres pitcher Jake Peavy were ejected, but there was no word from the league on any punishment. Cubs manager Lou Piniella said there were no warnings from the umpires before Sunday's game, and there were no obvious signs of lingering ill will once the teams took the field.

"I think we had the mentality that [today] was going to be baseball," Gonzalez said. "I think both managers understood that it wasn't intentional."

That incident came about two weeks after Zambrano got into a fight with Michael Barrett that started in the dugout during a game against Atlanta, resumed in the clubhouse and ultimately left the catcher with a black eye and busted lip that needed six stitches. A day later, Piniella kicked dirt at an umpire, resulting in a four-game suspension.

The Cubs are 9-6 since Piniella's tirade, but a substantial win streak is eluding them.

"We can't get too down," Lee said. "They just came out and swung the bats well."

It added up to another unpleasant outing for Hill, who had a heated exchange with Barrett in the dugout during his previous start. This time, Piniella thought Hill might have tipped his pitches.

"It looked like that," Hill said. "It's disappointing. I don't know what else to say."

Gonzalez doubled high off the wall in center with two out in the first, and Cameron made it 2-0 with a drive to center.

The Cubs got a run in the second when Ryan Theriot singled in Jacque Jones with two out, but the Padres broke it open in the third.

Cruz walked with one out, and two pitches later, the Padres had a 5-1 lead.

Gonzalez drove Hill's first pitch over the left-field wall for his 14th homer, and Cameron followed with his eighth. Cameron and Gonzalez also went deep back-to-back in the third inning against Hill on May 22, and Cameron hit two homers in that game.

"We were just trying to get guys on base," Cameron said. "He got a couple balls over the plate and we hit them well."

Game notes
Cameron has two multihomer games this season and 12 in his career. ... Padres 3B Chase Headley got his first major league hit when he singled to center in the second. ... Piniella said Daryle Ward would likely fill in at first if Lee gets suspended. Ward (strained left hip) is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list before Tuesday's game at Texas. ... The Cubs optioned left-handed reliever Clay Rapada to Triple-A Iowa after Sunday's game.