Cascade’s Rea wins major league debut

SAN DIEGO – On a Tuesday night where the Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 11-6, the story was about pitching.

Or better put, one particular San Diego pitcher.

Cascade native Colin Rea (1-0), in his major-league debut, pitched five-plus innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out four.

'Obviously, I was a little nervous to start the game, but I settled in pretty good,” he said. 'We jumped out to an early lead, and I think that was huge. I just tried to put up zeroes afterwards. It was just awesome.”

Second baseman Jedd Gyorko had four RBIs, smacking a two-run double in the first and a two-run homer in the second to pace the Padres.

'We were swinging the bats well, and obviously getting Colin some run support was good,” Gyorko said. 'He went out and pitched great.”

Cincinnati's Michael Lorenzen (3-8) was lifted after 1 1/3 innings. He was charged with seven runs on seven hits, with two walks and a strikeout. It was the rookie's fourth straight loss, seventh in his last eight outings and his shortest stint as a starter.

Rea, 25, started the season in Double-A San Antonio before being promoted to Triple-A El Paso on July 3. He brought a lifetime minor-league record of 26-33 into the game.

'It's definitely an experience I'll never forget,” he said of his debut. 'At the same time, it's nice to get that first one out of the way and kind of get your feet wet. I'll move on to the next one and just kind of build off this one and try to get better the next start.”

The Padres extended their lead to 8-0 in the second. Rea opened with his first major-league hit, Solarte and Alonso followed with doubles, with Alonso's scoring two. Upton added another RBI double, which chased Lorenzen. That set the stage for Gyorko's two-run homer off reliever Dylan Axelrod.

Rea got off to a rocky start as the first two batters he faced reached base. But he wiggled from the jam and it was the Padres breaking through in the first.

Gyorko had a two-run single, scoring Solarte (walk) and Kemp (single). Catcher Austin Hedges made it 3-0 when he drove in Upton with a single.

It was the start of a short outing for Lorenzen.

'Teammates have been great,” Lorenzen said. 'They come up to me and they want to help. They see the struggle I'm going through, the growing pains right now and they want to help and that is all you can ask for.”

Or, to be backed by 11 early runs, which was the luxury enjoyed by Rea.