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Decker's first start in L.A. holds special meaning

"I have a Major League stat, and that's a good start," Decker said. "Any big league stat is better than all my Minor League stats combined. No one's going to look at my Minor League stats and go, 'Oh, what a ballplayer!" They're going to look at the RBI and say, 'Hey you did that.'"

Decker, 28, had a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, giving the Padres their second run on a night when little went right. Don't tell Decker as much, though.

Playing in front of 70 or so friends and family -- Decker is a native of Santa Monica and played at UCLA -- Decker got his first start at first base.