SAN DIEGO -- Cameron Rupp tweaked his swing, and now hitting has become a day at the beach. Earl Watson Jersey .Rupp clanked a three-run homer off a palm tree beyond center field and tied a career high with four RBI to lift the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Diego Padres 5-4 on Friday night.Rupp has revamped his swing by trying to stay on top of the ball and its paying off. He rates among the NLs top five catchers this season with 13 homers and 38 RBI.I cant tell you how much more fun it is when you are hitting home runs and driving in runs, he said. Its awesome Im having the success I am having.Rupp also helped guide starter Jeremy Hellickson (9-7) through another solid start. Hellickson allowed three runs, six hits and two walks in his first start since sticking with the Phillies through the trade deadline despite rumors he might move.Im pitching for these guys, Hellickson said. I dont know who offered what, but Im pitching for these guys and thats it.Jeanmar Gomez pitched the ninth for his 28th save in 30 chances.Christian Friedrich (4-7) lost for the sixth time in his last seven decisions, surrendering four runs and five hits. He had four strikeouts and hasnt won since June 23.I thought (Friedrich) was good today, Padres manager Andy Green said. He paid for that pitch (to Rupp) but other than that he was really good all day.Alexei Ramirezs first career pinch-hit homer in the seventh pulled the Padres within 4-3 and chased Hellickson. Travis Jankowski followed with a single and appeared to stretch it to a double, but after Jankowski was ruled safe on Tyler Goeddels throw, the call was overturned because Jankowski took his hand off the bag before calling time.The Phillies scored in the eighth on Tommy Josephs single to make it 5-3. In the bottom half, Wil Myers hit a homer for his third hit of the game, slicing the deficit to 5-4.Rupp padded the Phillies cushion to 4-2 in the sixth when his RBI single scored Franco, who reached on a one-out single.Jankowski scored in the third for a 2-0 Padres lead. He singled and advanced to second on Myers single. Hellickson then balked both runners up 90 feet and Jankowski came in on Jose Rondons run-scoring single.The Padres struck in the second, using speed and two singles.Alex Dickerson opened with a hit and swiped second. Two outs later, Rondons single brought in Dickerson for a 1-0 advantage.Myers homer was his 21st of the season and his 15th at Petco Park, which ties a franchise record.TRAINERS ROOMPadres: RHP Colin Rea will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Rea was traded to the Marlins recently and injured his arm in his first start on July 30. The Marlins claimed the Padres werent forthright with Reas medical reports and the Padres agreed to reacquire Rea.UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Jake Thompson makes his major league debut in the second contest of the three-game series. Thompson, who was acquired last year from Texas in a package for Cole Hamels, went 8-0 over his last 11 starts at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.Padres: RHP Paul Clemens (1-2, 4.70) makes his third start for the Padres after being claimed off waivers in July. Clemens left his last outing on Sunday against the Reds with a sore back after 4 1/3 innings. He took the loss after giving up two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five. Jason Williams Jersey . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. Shareef Abdur-Rahim Jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. https://www.cheapgrizzlies.com/644p-gray...-grizzlies.html . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. ATLANTA -- Paul Griffin has come out of retirement to lead Georgia Techs athletic department through another transition.Griffin took over this week as interim athletic director at a school in a bit turmoil coming off a 3-9 season in football, a coaching change in mens basketball and reports of internal strife under predecessor Mike Bobinski, who left Georgia Tech after less than 3 1-2 years to take the same job at Purdue.Ill tell you one thing, Griffin quipped Tuesday, no one is more surprised to be sitting in this room having this conversation than me.Griffin was a longtime senior administrator at Georgia Tech, overseeing many of the schools athletic construction projects and also filling in previously as interim AD during the changeover from Dan Radakovich to Bobinski.Less than a year after finishing up his tenure with the Yellow Jackets, Griffin is back on the Flats again -- albeit only temporarily while the school searches for Bobinskis successor.We have approximately 375 student-athletes who are here to be educated, Griffin said. They dont really care about the interim athletic director, whoever that person is. They just want to get an education and have a great athletic experience. Thats part of our charge most immediately.While Griffin is in largely a caretaker role, hes eager to allay any nervousness or uncertainty facing those who worked under Bobinski -- especially new basketball coach Josh Pastner. He hasnt even coached a game with the Yellow Jackets, but hes already got a new boss.After agreeing to serve as interim AD, Griffin immediately cut short a family trip to Florida to meet with Pastner.I understood some of the anxiety he might have, Griffin said. I look forward to working with him this year. I look forward to getting his Georgia Tech relationship off on the right foot.Griffin has a much longer relationship with football coach Paul Johnson, who has openly complained that Georgia Techs athletic facilities hhavent kept up with other Power Five schools. Blue Edwards Jersey. I dont necessarily disagree, Griffin said. Part of my responsibility is to identify some of the pressing needs, that being perhaps one of them.In an interesting twist, Griffin visited a new football training facility at Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouse Clemson, where Radakovich is the AD, just days before Bobinski left Georgia Tech. The Tigers complex includes a barber shop, bowling alley, miniature golf course and nap room.Georgia Tech, which faces plenty of attendance and fundraising issues in the crowded Atlanta sports marketplace, simply doesnt have the resources to keep up with schools such as Clemson.I just hope the parents of prospects have a little bit more focus on priorities other than having a barbershop in your facility, Griffin said.Johnson, whose relationship with Bobinski certainly seemed strained at times, appeared to take a shot at the former athletic director when asked about the change in leadership.Ive worked with Paul Griffin before. I respect him, Johnson said. Hes a standup guy. If youve got a question, hell give you answer.Theres no timetable on Georgia Tech hiring a new athletic director, and Griffin said hes willing to stay on as long as needed, even into early next year.He wont be making the trip to Ireland, where the Yellow Jackets open the football season Saturday against ACC rival Boston College.If we win the game this weekend, even though clearly I wont be there, Im going to take credit for that, Griffin said, breaking into a smile as he looked ahead to the home opener against Mercer. Because I know theyre going to blame me for the cold hot dogs in Section 221 next week.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry ' ' '