BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer
PHOENIX (AP) — For weeks, Vidal Nuno had pitched well only to be hurt by a lack of run support.
This time, the Arizona Diamondbacks finally scored a few for him — but he was far from his best.
Eric Stults, himself unaccustomed to much support this season, got some help from San Diego’s bats in a 6-5 victory Friday night over Arizona, extending the Diamondbacks’ losing streak to a season-worst seven games.
“Trying to do too much at times and overthinking,” Nuno said.
He said his pitches “got over the middle of the plate and they put the ball in play. That’s part of the game. It is annoying that I got some run support today and that I blew it a little bit.”
Nuno (0-6) went five innings, giving up six runs, the most in his 12 starts since coming to Arizona in a trade with the New York Yankees, where he was 2-5. He allowed two or fewer runs in each of his previous five starts.
“Nuno has been throwing the ball great for us and tonight he didn’t have his good stuff,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “The ball was elevated. He couldn’t get it down. He didn’t have the action on his pitches.”
A.J. Pollock had three hits for the Diamondbacks, including a three-run homer after third baseman Yangervis Solarte’s two-out error in Arizona’s four-run fifth.
Stults (7-16), tied with Philadelphia’s A.J. Burnett and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kevin Correia for most losses in the majors, allowed five runs — two earned — and seven hits in six innings.
Friday night’s game marked only the third time in his 29 starts this season that the Padres have scored more than three runs for the left-hander.
“I’ve said repeatedly that he’s the victim of the least amount of run support in the game,” San Diego manager Bud Black said.
In Stults’ previous three starts, all losses, the Padres had scored a total of two runs.
“This year has just been one of those years,” Stults said. “I’ve played on a lot of teams where there always seems to be one guy that doesn’t get a lot of run support. Guys play hard. Obviously they’ve been trying.”
Padres shortstop Alexi Amarista robbed Jake Lamb of a hit in the ninth inning with a diving stop, getting a forceout at second.
“It would have been a completely different ballgame if we got that runner on,” Pollock said.
Arizona went on to put runners at first and third with two outs in the ninth against Kevin Quackenbush before pinch-hitter Aaron Hill flied out to left.
Quackenbush got his third save as San Diego won for only the second time in nine games.
The Diamondbacks are 1-11 in Nuno’s starts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: OF Will Venable was out of the lineup after leaving Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a back strain. … OF Abraham Almonte (soreness) has been out for the past week.
Diamondbacks: OF David Peralta has been out of the lineup since Saturday with a sore back. He was awaiting results of an MRI. … RHP Matt Reynolds, coming off Tommy John surgery, threw a bullpen session.
UP NEXT
Padres: RHP Tyson Ross (13-13, 2.66 ERA) has gone at least six innings in 23 of his last 28 starts. In that span, his ERA is 2.57. The Padres have won seven of Ross’ last 10 starts.
Diamondbacks: Rookie RHP Chase Anderson (8-6, 3.71) is one-third of an inning shy of his professional high (137 2-3.) He is 5-2 with a 3.45 ERA against NL West foes.
POLLOCK’S BACK
Pollock is batting .370 (10 for 27) in eight games since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 5. His home run was his first since coming back. The center fielder also threw out Amarista trying to stretch a single. Pollock missed three months with a broken right hand, the result of being hit by a pitch from Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto.
FINALLY SOME OFFENSE
Both teams had been weak at the plate.
Arizona’s five runs were by far its most during the losing streak. The Diamondbacks had totaled eight in their previous six games, never more than two in any of them. San Diego’s six runs matched its most in the last nine games. In five of those, the Padres scored a combined two runs and were shut out three times.
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