Chris Young heard the ovations Tuesday as he twice crossed the outfield at Petco Park -- and that was before the game.
"It gave me an unbelievable feeling," said the right-hander, who made his first big-league start since being hit in the face by an Albert Pujols line drive May 21. Young, who had two rounds of surgery and whose senses of smell and taste remain diminished, pitched five scoreless innings in his return, holding Arizona to two hits and a pair of walks on 88 pitches. He was working on a 90-pitch limit.
"I felt good," Young said. "It was a lot of fun being back out there. I missed it. I missed being out there and competing. I was so excited to be out there I was actually more relaxed. I tried to appreciate it more and enjoy it more."
Young said he was aggressive with his fastball, although the strikeouts and fouls ran his pitch count up.
"Words can't describe how I feel," he said. "This is a great baseball city. The fans have been great. They've been supportive the entire way. I've had unbelievable support from the organization, my teammates, my family, the fans, everyone."
DIAMONDBACKS 3, PADRES 0: Arizona starter Doug Davis pitched a perfect game for 6 2/3 innings before Brian Giles broke up the gem with a line-drive single to center. Arizona scored three runs in the sixth against Clay Hensley after Chris Young had pitched five scoreless innings in his first outing since being struck in the face by an Albert Pujols liner May 21. The Padres loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, only to have Arizona RF Alex Romero make a great, over-the-head running catch of Jody Gerut's drive to the 410-foot sign in right-center. "Their guy made a fabulous defensive play, a phenomenal play, a helluva play," Padres manager Bud Black said.
