Volstad limits Padres to 4 singles in 7 innings

SAN DIEGO — Chris Volstad pitched seven strong innings to lead the Florida Marlins to a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.

The Padres had only five singles until rookie Kyle Blanks hit Leo Nunez’s first pitch of the ninth inning an estimated 417 feet into the second deck in left-center field for his first major league homer.

Hanley Ramirez had three of Florida’s 12 hits.

The Padres, who have the second-worst record in the NL, dropped to 12-32 since June 1, the worst in the majors in that stretch.

San Diego is 1-5 on this homestand against Colorado and Florida. The visitors have combined for 28 runs and 52 hits to only 12 runs and 39 hits for the Padres.

The 6-foot-8 Volstad (7-9) held the Padres to one run and four singles, with four walks and two strikeouts.

He fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, walking leadoff batter Everth Cabrera and allowing Adrian Gonzalez’s one-out, RBI single up the middle. Volstad then silenced the Padres, who had only two baserunners in scoring position the next six innings.

Nunez earned his sixth save in nine chances. San Diego’s Will Venable had a pinch-hit single to center with two outs and stole second before Cabrera grounded out to end it.

Florida tied it at 1 in the second against Chad Gaudin when Dan Uggla walked and scored on John Baker’s double down the left-field line. The Marlins went ahead in the third on Jorge Cantu’s RBI single, then added Jeremy Hermida’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Gaudin (4-9) allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked two.

NOTES: Padres RF Brian Giles, on the DL since June 19 with a bruised right knee, said he will probably hit in the cage next week. … San Diego 2B David Eckstein, on the DL since July 6 with a strained right hamstring, went full out during batting practice and thinks he could be activated this weekend when the Padres are at Washington. “Everything’s going, as they say, as planned,” Eckstein said. … The Marlins recalled INF Gaby Sanchez from Triple-A New Orleans. He takes the roster spot of starter Andrew Miller, who was optioned to New Orleans after Monday night’s win. Sanchez appeared in five games with Florida last season. He was hitting .284 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs with New Orleans.