Sizemore homers, waits out rain, homers again as Indians top Padres

CLEVELAND (AP) -- It only seemed like Grady Sizemore went a long, long time between home runs.

Sizemore homered twice -- more than five hours apart -- and the Cleveland Indians waited out a long rain delay, then rallied to beat the San Diego Padres 9-5 on Friday night.

"All the guys kept their focus and had good at-bats," Indians manager Eric Wedge said after the marathon. "Grady's a fantastic player and really stepped up. The bullpen did, too."

Sizemore's third multihomer game this season and fourth of his career helped Cleveland to its fourth win in five games. The Padres lost for the second time in nine games.

Rafael Betancourt (2-3) struck out two over 1 2/3 innings for the win. Rick Bauer, the Indians' fifth pitcher, got the final out on Saturday morning -- six hours and 15 minutes after the 7:05 p.m. start.

Sizemore hit the third pitch from San Diego starter Josh Banks over the right-field wall for his 15th homer -- and fifth to open a game this year, tying Kenny Lofton's team record set in 1999. Sizemore has done it 16 times overall.

Two outs later, a summer thunderstorm sent everyone scurrying for cover and delayed play for two hours, 43 minutes.

It was after midnight when Sizemore connected for a two-run shot off Mike Adams for a 7-4 lead in the seventh inning. It was his fourth homer in three nights and eighth in his last 14 games.

"I'm not trying for homers, but I do feel comfortable at the plate and they're just flying out right now," said Sizemore, who is batting .357 (15-for-42) with five homers and nine RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak.

Shin-Soo Choo grounded a two-run single between first and second with two outs and the bases loaded off Cla Meredith (0-2) in the sixth to put Cleveland ahead 5-4.

It came after Jhonny Peralta, in a 3-for-22 slump, coaxed a walk.

"That walk was as big as anything because Peralta really focused and didn't give in mentally," Wedge said.

Padres manager Bud Black also believed the walk was the turning point.

"It's one of those nights where the game got away from us, partly due to the base on balls and the hits after," Black said. "Meredith had him down 1-2 and walked him. He got the ground ball to Choo, but it found a hole."

San Diego had taken a 4-3 lead in the fifth on Adrian Gonzalez's 19th homer, a two-run shot that gave the Padres' first baseman 62 RBIs, most in the National League.

Catcher Kelly Shoppach's two-run homer, his fourth, gave Cleveland a 3-0 lead in the third off San Diego starter Josh Banks. Shoppach has four RBIs in two games since All-Star catcher Victor Martinez was placed on the disabled list.

Martinez had surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow earlier in the day and is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks.

"With all those guys out, everybody has to pick up the slack," Sizemore said. "It felt good for me tonight, but it could be anybody tomorrow."

Three former Indians in the Padres' lineup combined for six of San Diego's 14 hits.

Kevin Kouzmanoff went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and solo homer, Brian Giles had two hits and a run and Jody Gerut went 1-for-3.

Banks gave up three runs and five hits, striking out four.

Cleveland starter Jeremy Sowers yielded four runs and nine hits over 4 1-3 innings.

Game notes
Cleveland is 5-2 all-time against San Diego. ... The Indians are 1-3 this year and 103-94 all-time in interleague play. ... San Diego fell to 39-53 in AL ballparks in interleague action. ... Indians 2B Jamey Carroll went 3-for-5 and is 11-for-14 (.786) in his last four games. ... The Padres got tickets to the game for 25 rookies from the San Diego Chargers. The NFL hopefuls went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, 65 miles south, in the afternoon. ... Cleveland signed six of its recent draft picks, including RHP David Roberts, a fourth-round pick from Long Beach State. ... Gonzalez hit the 2,500th homer in Progressive Field, which opened in 1994. The Indians have hit 1,380 of those.