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CHICAGO -- Despite struggling on the mound most of the game, Ian Kennedy executed his pitches when he needed it the most. Tommy Medica hit a go-ahead RBI double in the fifth, the same inning Kennedy pitched out of a bases loaded jam, and the San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Wednesday night. On a cool, unseasonably summer night in Chicago, Kennedy (8-9) won his third straight decision. He allowed three runs and three hits, while striking out six and pitching around a season-high five walks in six innings. With the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, Kennedy struck out Anthony Rizzo and got Starlin Castro to ground out to end the inning. Rizzo, currently one of the hottest hitters in baseball was coming off a two-homer game against the Padres on Tuesday. "Hes been swinging the bat very good, all season he has. If you make a mistake to him it will cost you quite a bit. I knew I had to execute and bear down in that situation. It was a big at-bat in the whole game and it kind of stopped their momentum," Kennedy said. Medica finished with three hits and drove in two runs for the Padres, who came into the game with baseballs worst batting average at .215. Luis Valbuena hit a three-run homer for the Cubs, who have lost 12 of 15. Cubs starter Tsuyoshi Wada (0-1) allowed five runs, five hits and four walks in four-plus innings. It was his second career start after receiving a no-decision against the Reds on July 8. "On the hill he looks as composed as anybody, but he didnt find his rhythm and command today as he had in his last outing against Cincinnati, but he kept grinding. He did try to get through it," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. After a leadoff walk in the first inning, Yangervis Solarte hit an RBI triple to right. Solarte scored on Carlos Quentins sacrifice fly to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. Solarte was acquired on Tuesday from Yankees, centring around a trade that sent Chase Headley to New York. "Right off the bat that was great to see. It brought us some energy," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He looked good, everything as advertised. It was good to get him acclimated." Jeff Francoeur, who had his contract purchased by the Padres from Triple-A El Paso before the game, singled in his major league season debut, then scored from first on Chris Nelsons double. He finished the game 1 for 3 with a walk a sacrifice fly. Kennedy was unable to hold the 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. He allowed two walks, then with two outs, Valbuena drove Kennedys 0-1 pitch into the bleachers in right field to tie the game. It was Valbuenas sixth homer of the season. "It was just a bad curveball I threw to Valbuena. That was frustrating because I thought my curveball was pretty good all night," Kennedy said. "That was by far the worst one I threw all night." Wada, who struggled with his control the entire game, walked the first two batters in the fifth. His night ended when Medica hit an RBI ground-rule double in the ivy in left. Reliever Brian Schlitter continued with the control problems for the Cubs. He walked Rene Rivera with the bases loaded to give the Padres a 5-3 lead. Pinch-hitter Seth Smith and Medica had RBI singles in the eighth for the Padres and Francoeur added a sacrifice fly. NOTES: The Cubs promoted OF prospect Jorge Soler to Triple-A Iowa where he will join infielders Kris Bryant and Javier Baez. "Our last big call was around the All-Star break. With Soler, we talked about the fact that he really looked like he was on a mission. He came off the DL (hamstring injury) without missing a beat. It was remarkable for him not to show any signs of rust, in fact the opposite. And he said, now is my time," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. ... Francoeur took OF Cameron Maybins spot on the roster. 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Ilonen birdied five of his closing seven holes in superb scoring conditions to end the day with a two-shot lead on the Fota Island course. Ilonen had just 26 putts on the occasion of his 300th European Tour event. For the second time in less than a month, the Winnipeg Goldeyes swept the rival Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in a doubleheader at Shaw Park. The Goldeyes (41-23) ran their winning streak to 10 games against the RedHawks (30-34) with 7-2 and 4-3 wins Tuesday night before 5,828 joyous spectators. The wins increase Winnipegs lead in the North Division to at least 3 1/2 games and extends the Goldeyes winning streak to four games. “It was a good day for the club,” Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney said. “We got contributions from a lot of people.” In the second game, Fargo scored first in the top of the first inning when C.J. Retherford collided with Goldeyes catcher Luis Alen at home plate and ball popped out of Alens glove. Alen was shook up on the play, but stayed in the game after taking a few minutes to compose himself. “It was a very unsettling situation, not only for Luis, by for our entire team,” Forney said. “Hes a very important part to our team around here and Luis is a tough guy. He understands that if you play that position things like that could happen. “Hes going to be sore tomorrow. His whole body will be sore. Plus, he caught 14 innings. That shows you how tough he is.” Winnipeg battled back to take the lead with two runs in the bottom of the second, as Reggie Abercrombie singled in Jake Blackwood and Jordan Guida singled in Abercrombie. The Goldeyes extended their lead with two more runs in the bottom oof the third.dddddddddddd. Josh Mazzola was hit by a pitch on a 0-2 count and, after stealing second, scored on a Tyler Kuhn double. Donnie Webb then drove in Kuhn with a single. Fargo scored a run in the fifth and sixth innings, but reliever Brendan Lafferty got the final five outs of the game to preserve the win. Ethan Hollingsworth went 5 1/3 innings to get the win for the Goldeyes, improving his record to a perfect 5-0, while Taylor Stanton dropped to 2-8 with the loss. Lafferty picked up his first save in a 90 outings in Goldeyes uniform. In the first game, the Goldeyes scored five runs in the bottom of the first and cruised to a 7-2 win over the RedHawks. Mazzola led Winnipeg at the plate by going three-for-four with two RBI and two runs scored. Abercrombie hit a two-run home run in the first inning. Salamida pitched a complete game for the win. He gave up two runs on just four hits, struck out six and walked one. With the win, he passed Rafael Gross for the second-most wins in Goldeyes history with 37. Salamida needs 10 more wins to catch Ace Walker for the franchise record. Aside for Tuesday night, the Goldeyes also swept the RedHawks in doubleheader on June 30. Winnipeg has a 6-2 record in doubleheader games this season. Winnipeg will go for its third consecutive sweep of Fargo in the series finale Wednesday night at Shaw Park. Chandler Barnard (4-1, 3.19) will take the ball for the Goldeyes against Brian Ernst (5-4, 5.71) for the RedHawks. ' ' '