ST. LOUIS — Will Venable was hardly the ideal choice to grab a bat cold off the bench. Good thing Padres interim manager Pat Murphy didn't know Venable had been 1 for 17 as a pinch hitter.
And a good thing Venable put it out of his head.
"I think as players you're attached to numbers in every situation," Venable said after his two-run homer in the top of the 11th inning helped the Padres snap a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the suddenly scuffling St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
"It's your job to separate yourself from those.