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Buck, Wells homer to lead Blue Jays to 7-1 victory over Padres, series win – Metro US

Buck, Wells homer to lead Blue Jays to 7-1 victory over Padres, series win

SAN DIEGO – Petco Park is supposed to be a pitcher’s park. Not when John Buck and the Blue Jays are there.

Buck hit his third home run of the series, Vernon Wells also went deep and Fred Lewis had four hits to help Toronto beat the San Diego Padres 7-1 on Wednesday to take two of three.

The Blue Jays had no trouble with spacious Petco Park, padding their big league-leading home run total to 103.

“I got it in the coastal wind, I guess,” Buck said.

Buck launched a two-run shot off the balcony on the fourth floor of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building in the left-field corner in the fifth inning for a 3-1 lead. It was his 12th — he homered twice in Monday night’s 6-3 win.

“He’s had a great three days here, hasn’t he? He’s done a great job for us,” manager Cito Gaston said.

“I don’t think you can change the way you hit just because of a particular park,” Buck said. “It’s not that easy. I just went about my approach aggressively, like I would no matter where we’re at because that’s the approach that best gives me the chance to hit balls.”

Wells hit his 16th homer on Kevin Correia’s first pitch of the sixth, making it 5-1.

Lewis tripled, singled and doubled in his first three at-bats before striking out and then hitting a two-run, bases-loaded single with one out in the ninth. He also scored two runs.

“I was hoping he would hit that cycle,” manager Cito Gaston said.

Lewis hit for the cycle in just his 16th big league game on May 13, 2007, at Colorado while with San Francisco.

Toronto left-hander Ricky Romero (6-3) allowed an unearned run and five hits in six innings, struck out five and walked three.

“Ricky battled as long as he could,” Gaston said. “He probably should have had a shutout.”

The Padres scored an unearned run in the second on Romero’s throwing error after he fielded Lance Zawadzki’s chopper that went for a two-out infield single.

Correia (5-5) lost for the fourth time in his last five decisions. He allowed five runs and nine hits in five-plus innings, struck out three and walked one.

“Things happen and all of a sudden a good start goes down the drain,” Correia said. “If I knew exactly why, I could work on it and fix it. But I’m just confused. I’m making some mistakes, but it’s not like I didn’t make mistakes last year.”

NOTES: Padres C Yorvit Torrealba plans to appeal his three-game suspension for making contact with an umpire. That would allow him to keep playing until a hearing is held. Torrealba was ejected in the ninth inning of Monday’s 6-3 home loss to the Blue Jays for arguing with umpire Larry Vanover after taking a called third strike. He was also fined an undisclosed amount. … Wells had been 2 for 28 (.071) during the road trip before his homer. … Lewis had been in a 4 for 33 slump coming into the game. … The Blue Jays won for just the third time in their last 11 road games and for the third time in their last 11 interleague games. … Buck has 11 of his 12 homers in his last 31 starts. … Correia is 1-1 with an 8.68 ERA and four homers allowed in his last four starts.