San Diego: Hunter Renfroe’s second swing back with the San Diego Padres was a big one.

The rookie hit a three-run home run in his first big league game in a month and Austin Hedges also connected for the Padres, who beat NL wild card leader Arizona 4-2 on Monday night.

Renfroe drove a 1-1 pitch from lefty Patrick Corbin to straightaway centrefield with two outs in the first, his 21st. He was demoted to Triple-A El Paso on August 18 to work on his hitting. He was recalled earlier on Monday.

“It felt good,” Renfroe said. “Obviously it’s good to do it in the first at-bat, but obviously to do it in general to help the team win, and to get the win against Arizona, which is a really good club, is special.”

Renfroe first came up late last season and had four home runs and 14 RBIs in 11 games. But he struggled enough this season that the Padres sent him down.

“It was humbling,” he said. “You go down for a reason. You either grow from it or you fail from it. I wanted to grow from it and become a better player, so I went down there with the mindset that I was going to get better and worked every day.”

“We’re just all excited to have him back,” manager Andy Green said. “That three-run home run kind of changed the game at the very beginning.”

Corbin (14-13) retired the first two batters before allowing Wil Myers’ double that bounced over the fence in left-centre. The pitcher then walked Yangervis Solarte before Renfroe connected.

Manager Andy Green said Renfroe, the club’s first-round draft pick in 2013, has a lot to work on, but also has a lot of potential.

“There’s another level he can get to,” Green said. “I hope whatever he can do these next two weeks, he’s encouraged to get to the next level.”

Hedges homered to left-centre on a 3-1 pitch with one out in the second, his 18th.

The Diamondbacks closed the gap in the third with RBI singles by David Peralta and J.D. Martinez off Luis Perdomo (8-10).

Arizona had a great chance to add on in the sixth after Perdomo loaded the bases with one out. But Padres manager Andy Green turned to Craig Stammen, who got Chris Herrmann to fly out to right, and Renfroe’s strong throw home held Daniel Descalso at third.

“It’s always there,” Renfroe said of his arm strength. “Whether it’s on line, sometimes it’s a different story, but it’s always there.”

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