Drew Pomeranz didn’t just perform well in his first home start at Petco Park.
He exceeded expectations.
The lefty mixed up his fastball and breaking ball so well he struck out 10 Pittsburgh batters and San Diego won its second straight over the Pirates, this time by a score of 8-2.
Pomeranz threw 111 pitches and only allowed one run over 6.2 innings.
The southpaw even added a RBI single in the 3rd inning and left to a standing ovation when he was pulled for Kevin Quackenbush in the 7th.
Matt Kemp blasted his team-high 5th homer of the year to stretch San Diego’s lead to 8-0 in the 4th.
Melvin Upton Junior provided two highlight-reel defensive plays in the 9th inning.
The left-fielder robbed Matt Joyce of a 2-run homer and then made a charging catch minutes later to help Luis Perdomo wiggle out of a shaky performance.
Upton went 0-for-2 at the plate but still drew two walks and scored a run.
The Padres placed second baseman Cory Spangenberg on the 15-day disabled list with a left quad strain earlier on Wednesday.
Spangenberg was injured during the 4th inning of Tuesday night’s 5-4 victory over Pittsburgh and left the game after beating out a bunt single.
Jemile Weeks was called up from Triple-A El Paso to take Spangenberg’s spot and started Wednesday at second base.
He was awarded a RBI single in the middle of the team’s 4-run 2nd inning on a play that easily could have been an error on Pittsburgh’s 3rd baseman.
Weeks had a great spring at the plate and almost made the Opening Day roster after exceeding expectations as a non-roster invite.
Expect Weeks and Adam Rosales to play more in place of Spangenberg over the next few days.
James Shields opposes Gerritt Cole in the series finale at 6:10 p.m. on Thursday.
The Padres can notch their first sweep of the season with a victory.
Time Magazine released its annual "100 Most Influential People in the World" list on Thursday, showcasing a select group of individuals for their impact on society, including "Hamilton" star and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, NBC’s Nightly News host Lester Holt and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Six different covers of the magazine will hit the stands Friday featuring Miranda, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christina Lagarde, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, singer Nicki Minaj, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, as well as actress and singer Priyanka Chopra.
The annual list features people who have inspired others, whether positively or negatively, and ranges from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to Pope Francis. Presidential candidates were also featured, including business magnate Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Ohio Gov. John Kasich did not make the list.
Artistic talent was also largely lauded in the list with rapper Kendrick Lamar, actress Taraji P. Henson, fashion designer Riccardo Tisci, and director Alejandro González Iñárritu making the cut.
Forty women, from the famous to the relatively unknown, also made the list. Grammy award winning artist Adele is acknowledged for her musical contributions, as well as the IMF's Lagarde, the first woman to lead a major international organization.
For each piece, another notable person profiles the influencer. Misty Copeland, the first Africa-American principal ballerina to grace the American Ballet Theater stage, wrote about NBA player Stephen Curry. Actor, writer and producer Tina Fey wrote UFC fighter Ronda Rousey's profile. Scientist and educator Bill Nye profiled Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
They came. They smoked. They left more than 11 tons of trash.
After more than 8,000 people flocked Golden Gate Park on Wednesday, or 4/20, as the San Francisco’s marijuana-loving community call it, countless bottles of Shasta soda, beer cans, Fruit Loops boxes and butts were left scattered across the grassy, green lawn.
"We think we will end up with over 15,000 pounds of trash," San Francisco Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg said Thursday morning. "Yes, it's impactful to our park." But when all was said and done, the total garbage tally? 22,000 pounds - 5,000 more than last year's 17,000, park officials noted.
The overall cost to taxpayers totaled about $50,000. Officials said total clean up effort cost $25,000 and likely another $25,000 will be needed in staff and city services for Wednesday and Thursday.
Police said the event was mostly peaceful. Police arrested eight of the 8,000 guests, including a robbery by a 19-year-old who threatened two 15-year-old boys with brass knuckles. Three other people were arrested for outstanding warrants, one was arrested for being drunk in public, one was arrested for assault and two were arrested for resisting arrest, police said.
Officers also removed four parents who brought small children to the smoky party, San Francisco police said.
The unsanctioned event has no permit and no event organizer, but even so, the city sends park crews out to clean up the mess at the taxpayer's expense.
"I really don't like it," said a 4/20 attendee named "Kourtney," who didn't look like he was cleaning up much trash himself.
Ginsburg said his employees would probably rather doing something else on a Thursday morning. But he noted it was Earth Day and that his crews were doing important work. The cleanup began at 6 a.m., he said, and would likely take a few hours.
NBC Bay Area’s Terry McSweeney and Bay City News contributed to this report.
A San Diego man was arrested Wednesday after he flashed two knives at a bar in downtown San Diego and stole a beer from the bartender, police said.
The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said the bizarre incident started around 4:15 p.m. at the Chee-Chee Club located at 929 Broadway.
Suspect Brian Villa walked into the bar and brandished two knives in front of the bartender. He then ordered the bartender to give him a beer.
Employees called 911 to report the theft. When police officers arrived at the business, the bartender pointed out Villa as the person who robbed her.
The suspect was arrested at the bar and the stolen beer was recovered, police said. No one was harmed.
Villa is facing two counts of first-degree robbery stemming from the alleged beer theft. He was booked into San Diego Central Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.
Health care education provider Pima Medical Institute has signed a long-term lease for a space at the North City mixed-use development in San Marcos, the project’s developer announced.
A statement from Urban Villages San Marcos said the private school has signed a 15-year lease, valued at more than $16 million, to occupy 40,000 square feet. It will be the second local campus for Arizona-based Pima, which has 16 U.S. locations including one in Chula Vista.
In San Marcos, Pima will occupy the first two floors in a three-story, 60,000-square-foot building under construction on Campus Way, fronting state Highway 78 and set for completion in 2017. Pima officials said the new location is expected to create approximately 90 jobs and serve an active population of 600 students.
San Diego-based Urban Villages, led by principals Gary Levitt and Michael McDonald, is developing the multi-phase, 204-acre North City adjacent to the campus of California State University, San Marcos. Completed elements include The Quad, with student housing and adjacent eateries and retail spaces.
Designed as a “live-work-learn” community with access to existing mass transit, planned upcoming elements at North City include more residential, retail, office and other commercial spaces. Developers said leasing for the project’s planned 800,000 square feet of future offices is being handled by Gary Williams, Tucker Hohenstein and Chris Williams, of brokerage firm Colliers International.
Construction at North City began in 2013. Developers have said it is expected to entail more than $1 billion in new projects over the next decade, adding about 4 million square feet of new residential and commercial amenities to the San Marcos market.
Women who had irregular periods in their 20s were more likely to develop ovarian cancer decades later, according to a new study, NBC News reported.
Researchers reported in the International Journal of Cancer that women who had irregular periods at age 26 had double the risk of ovarian cancer by age 70 and triple the risk by age 77.
But researchers point out that it doesn't mean that every woman who has irregular periods is doomed to develop ovarian cancer. Of the 15,000 who participated in the study, over the next 50 years, only 116 developed ovarian cancer.
What the findings can do is offer new avenues for research into what causes ovarian cancer, a highly deadly form of cancer because most women don't even know they have it until it's spread.
NBC 7’s Ben Rosehart discusses how Wednesday’s Eagles-Browns trade affects the Chargers in this commentary.
The San Diego Chargers are basically already on the clock even though they don’t technically own the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Before the Eagles handed the Browns five picks to move up from 8th to 2nd in the upcoming NFL draft, I’d say the chances of Jared Goff and Carson Wentz being the first two selections were pretty high. Let’s say 67%.
But now that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman admitted his franchise plans to take a quarterback (and I mean did you see how many picks they gave Cleveland?) it’s pretty much like 99.97%.
Cleveland sent the 2nd overall pick and a 2017 4th rounder to Philly in exchange for the 8th overall pick, a 3rd and a 4th rounder this year and a 2017 1st rounder and a 2018 2nd rounder.
So with Goff and Wentz presumably off the board, all indications are that the Chargers can take any position player their hearts desire.
What should the Bolts do?
DeForest Buckner would drastically help the defensive line. With free agent addition Brandon Mebane clogging up the middle and Cory Liuget back on the edge, that trio could vastly improve the defensive unit.
Buckner is a versatile, towering player who stands 6’7” and led the Pac-12 in sacks.
In addition to putting pressure on quarterbacks, he also routinely batted down passes with his long arms and big frame – an underrated talent that can be super annoying for opposing signal-callers.
Florida State safety Jalen Ramsey could be an even better playmaker than Eric Weddle.
But if you look at where the Chargers added free agents this off-season it makes me wonder if they are leaning towards selecting Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil or trading down a few spots to pick Ronnie Stanley out of Notre Dame.
The Chargers did not add any big-name offensive lineman in free agency and only re-signed right tackle Joe Barksdale and backup Chris Hairston.
Mebane is a former Seahawks defensive tackle, Dwight Lowery (Colts) and Casey Hayward (Packers) are defensive backs and Travis Benjamin (Browns) is a speedy wide receiver/kick returner.
Maybe the Chargers are banking on their current lineman actually staying healthy this season.
That didn’t work out so well the past two years and the unit as a whole has played subpar ever since Nick Hardwick retired.
DJ Fluker dealt with serious concussion issues last year and King Dunlap and Orlando Franklin struggled to stay on the field.
It’s not exactly breaking news that the Chargers need to change something about their O-Line to better protect Philip Rivers and help reestablish that ground game.
But San Diego did hire former Vikings assistant Jeff Davidson as the team’s new offensive line coach and added Dave DeGuglielmo to help him.
If Buckner is who the Chargers really want, then I’m curious to see if the team will try to make it look like they want Ramsey in an effort to dangle the 3rd pick to the Cowboys (who appear to be very interested in Ramsey and RB Ezekiel Elliott). They might be able to drum up more trade interest with some misdirection.
Perhaps the Bolts could drop down a spot to pick up an extra draft pick or two and still select Buckner.
Wouldn’t it be something if the Bolts traded their pick to continue this domino effect at the top of the draft?
If only it were as easy as 1-2-3.
A Normal Heights home being used as a medical marijuana dispensary was damaged by fire early Thursday.
It was 1 a.m. when San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were called to the home on 40th Street near Meade Avenue, just west of Interstate 15.
When crews arrived, fire was coming out of the front door. Firefighters say they had to force their way into the home to make sure no one was inside.
A refrigerator was pushed up against the front door and it appears the compression unit in the fridge malfunctioned, starting the fire, firefighters said.
The fire was contained to the front door of the home.
Firefighters later discovered that it appears the home is being used as a marijuana dispensary and no one was living at the home.
A bus drivers’ strike has been averted in the North County.
North County Transit District (NCTD) was concerned there may be a work stoppage in the middle of negotiations between union drivers and the bus service First Transit.
And while there had been no call for strike just yet, NCTD was warning customers to have backup plans since drivers could walk off the job.
However, representatives from First Transit told NBC 7 they have reached a tentative with the Local Teamster 542.
No details were released.
The FBI paid more than a million dollars for software to hack into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers, NBC News reported.
"A lot, more than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months, for sure,” FBI Director James Comey said during a security conference in London.
The FBI director is paid about $180,000 a year. So multiplying that by 7.3 years yields a figure of about $1.3 million. FBI officials were not immediately available to confirm the figure.
Apple and the FBI were supposed to head to court in March, until the government said it found a way to get data off Syed Farook’s iPhone without the company’s help. Comey recently said the FBI “purchased” the technique from an unidentified third party.
A group of nine Republican “Wal-Mart moms” said they would feel "cheated" and that the system is “corrupt” if Donald Trump did not become the Republican presidential nominee if he won the most delegates, NBC News reported.
These voters say they would use the words “misled,” “cheated” and “rigged” if the candidate with the most votes did not win the nomination. The women all shopped at Wal-Mart in the last month and have at least one child under 18 living at home.
A similar focus group was also conducted in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Sentiments about fairness in the GOP primary were largely shared, even among the Democratic voters.
For both groups, the race has become Clinton versus Trump, despite the continuing primary battle.
High five, San Diego!
Our fair city has once again been entered into the Guinness World Record books.
San Diego Charger Jason Verrett joined 300 people at Qualcomm Stadium Friday in their effort to complete the most high fives in one minute.
Verrett made the first two attempts but organizers say he ran too fast (44 seconds) for cameras to receive an accurate count.
So a Kaiser Permanente Assistant Medical Group Administrator named Dave Horton made the group’s third and final attempt.
He beat the current record of 277 but successfully completing 290 high fives, according to a Kaiser Permanente spokesperson.
The health care provider put together the event to inspire more people to adopt healthy eating and active lifestyles.
What constitutes an official high five according to the Guinness World Record rules?
Pop singer Kesha will be the headliner at this summer’s San Diego Pride Music Festival, event organizers confirmed Thursday.
The music fest – right in the middle of three days of San Diego Pride celebrations – takes place July 16 and July 17 at Marston Point in Balboa Park, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., respectively.
Organizers say this year’s event includes 96 acts across a main stage, Latin stage, Hip Hop stage and 1980s and 1990s stage.
The “We R Who We R” singer is known for her open support of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community and LGBT issues, including the fight for equality.
“I am beyond excited to perform at San Diego Pride this year. We have come a long way with the equal rights movement, but we have so much more work to do,” Kesha said in a statement released by San Diego Pride Festival organizers.
“In my home state of Tennessee they recently passed anti-LGBT legislation - it's another reminder that groups like Pride are so important, and I'm honored to be part of San Diego Prides event on July 16. I'll never stop fighting for people who just want to be able to express themselves freely for who they are,” she added.
San Diego Pride executive director Stephen Whitburn said the festival is honored to have Kesha as not only a performer, but as an advocate at this year’s event.
Tickets to the San Diego Pride Music Festival are available online and start at $15 for an early bird weekend pass. Kids 14 and under are free.
This year’s event will also feature a free area called the “Rainbow Zone,” which will include booths from many non-profit organizations that help connect LGBT community members with vital resources, including HIV testing.
Kesha has been making headlines lately for her battle with music producer Dr. Luke. Kesha claims the producer drugged and sexually abused her.
Dr. Luke denies her accusations and has not been charged with any crime. Her abuse claims against the producer were dismissed by a New York City judge earlier this month. Kesha has been vocal about trying to free herself from a contract with Dr. Luke, but he has filed ongoing breach-of-contract claims against the singer.
Kesha fans have called on Sony to sever ties with Dr. Luke, and Kesha has gotten an outpouring of support from fans and fellow celebrities.
When a carjacker took control of an employee shuttle at the San Diego International Airport, one worker jumped into action and is being called a hero.
Walter Zacofsky III was only thinking about getting to his car in time to pick up his girlfriend when he hopped the employee shuttle at Terminal 2 East Tuesday.
But that date would have to wait, for Zacofsky's potential life-and-death struggle with a desperate carjacker.
“It took one person to let their guard down and one person to seize the opportunity,” Walter Zacofsky III said Wednesday as he looked back on the carjacking.
“If I didn't do anything I can't expect anyone else to do anything,” he added.
The otherwise mild-mannered, steady Air Terminal Services (ATS) worker was called to perform a duty in which he was never trained but rose to the responsibility. Fellow ATS workers call him a hero.
“If it wasn't for Walter being on there, I don't know how far it would have gone,” co-worker Michelle Lindner said.
The shuttle – typically used to transport airport employees – was carrying nine passengers at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday when Arizona resident Norberto Eaton, 46, hopped on board at the Terminal 2 West stop and took a seat behind Zacofsky, San Diego Harbor Police said.
The driver pulled over to the curbside pick-up area and stepped off the bus to give a piece of equipment to another shuttle driver who had pulled up behind him, police said.
That's when investigators say Eaton moved to the driver’s seat and drove toward the highway.
“When I realized something was really wrong I thought this would be my last ride,” Zacofsky said.
Harbor Police said Eaton left the airport and drove eastbound on busy N. Harbor Drive, speeding and ignoring traffic signals.
Zacofsky described it as the longest five-minute ride of his life. The seven other airport employees on the shuttle likely felt the same way.
“Although I was fearing for my life I also feared for their lives, those passengers,” he said. “They were shocked they were scared.”
Zacofsky and another male passenger seized the opportunity to grab the suspect when he was forced to stop for traffic at N. Harbor Drive and Hawthorn Street.
“I wanted him out, didn't know if he was armed with anything,” he said. “But I don't want to risk that in such a confined space.”
Out Eaton went, running straight into the arms of a parking enforcement officer, police said.
Zacofsky stood by with the parking enforcement officer until Harbor Police officers arrived.
Eaton was arrested and booked into San Diego Central Jail on 18 counts, including eight counts of kidnapping and eight counts of false imprisonment with violence. He’s also facing a vehicle theft charge and a count of reckless driving.
He's expected to appear in court Thursday. It's not known if Eaton has secured an attorney.
Investigators said Eaton is not an employee of the San Diego International Airport. It is unclear how he got onto the shuttle.
The employees aboard the shuttle were not injured. There was also no damage to the shuttle.
Police said Eaton was not armed at the time of the shuttle theft.
Harbor Police Sgt. Jonathan George said the incident was captured on surveillance tape inside the shuttle but that video is not being publicly released at this time.
NBC 7 reached out to the driver of the shuttle but the driver had no comment on the case.
San Diego Police are investigating an attack reported by a female Point Loma Nazarene University student that occurred off campus but less than a mile from two residence halls.
A woman jogging on Moana Drive at 9:09 p.m. on April 14 said she was attacked by two men.
The men grabbed the woman and tried to force her inside a vehicle, police said.
When the woman fought back, one of the men punched her in the face, investigators said. The two men then fled in a car described as a black four-door sedan.
PLNU officials sent a crime bulletin to the university community five days after the reported incident.
The location of the alleged attack is approximately 400 feet from the Finch and Wiley Residence Halls and less than two-tenths of a mile from the campus Welcome Center.
"It is our policy to not speculate or comment further when an active criminal investigation is underway," Caye Smith, Vice President of Student Life said in a written statement.
PLNU Freshman Jessica Cobb said she walks on the stretch of road every day to get to her job.
"Even in broad daylight I'm so alert because of what happened," Cobb said. "It’s kind of a shock."
"I think it's brought out a lot of caution when walking around and people are definitely pairing up and buddy system is highly recommended now," she said of the university’s bulletin.
The neighborhood just outside the PLNU campus is made up of multi-million dollar homes with views of the Pacific Ocean and San Diego Bay.
Homeowner Carly Juengel was surprised to learn of the investigation.
"I run in this neighborhood all the time, I've never heard of anything like this happening here and it's infuriating," she said.
"I used to run in canyons and there were a bunch of attacks so I stopped running in canyons," she said. "I'm definitely not going to stop running, but I definitely need to be aware of my surroundings all the time."
The incident is under investigation and SDPD has released limited suspect descriptions estimating the men to be approximately 6-feet tall and weighing between 190 and 200 pounds. The men were said to be wearing dark clothing.
Many took to social media on Thursday morning to mourn the loss of superstar Prince.
On Twitter, 2.2 million tweets were sent about the legend's death.
Some quoted his well-known song lyrics and shared memories of attending his concerts.
NBC 7's Jodi Kodesh shared a Prince song that she heard on the radio on the drive in to work on Thursday.
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Here's how some San Diegans remembered the icon.
If you're a mobile user, you can view the Storify here.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if there were still people in the FBI and around the country working the investigation of the 9/11 attacks,” San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore told NBC 7 Investigates.
When asked to elaborate, he said, he believes there are still questions to answer. "Knowing how the FBI works and how investigations continue on until you have left no stone unturned.”
Gore was the head of the San Diego division of the FBI at the time of the terrorists attacks in 2001.
One element of the investigation that has gained attention recently is a classified 28-page section of the joint inquiry report issued in December 2002 by the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Gore said he hasn’t read the classified pages but has firsthand knowledge of many of the details surrounding the events of that day.
"I don’t think there is any mystery to the fact that a lot of funding came from very wealthy Saudi's,” Gore said. “But, to say that 9/11 was directed by the Saudi Government, I think it's kind of stretch."
Gore ran the FBI office in San Diego for six years.
"We were never told by FBI headquarters, the White House, the State Department or the CIA to stop investigating something or that we were getting too close to a particular target," Gore said.
Even, when it came to the Saudi government.
"I was never directed to do anything different,” Gore said. “To pull back on any leads; stop any investigations that pertained to Saudi Arabia."
He said the local office did a professional and thorough job, chasing 8,000 leads in the three months after the 9/11 attacks. Still, he said, there are some unanswered questions.
Gore said he believes there are Saudi elements with San Diego connections that remain unclear. Including, who in San Diego helped two of the hijackers Nawar al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar.
Both men were from Saudi Arabia and were responsible for flying one of the passenger airplanes into the Pentagon on 9/11.
"There was a lot of people locally who befriended them,” Gore said. “They came here (San Diego) as college students. They didn’t speak English. They wanted to take flight lessons as we all know, so, there was a lot of people who took them in as foreigners, as part of the Saudi community (in San Diego.)"
One of those people is Omar al Bayoumi, a mid-level employee of a Saudi airline.
Gore said al-Bayoumi helped the hijackers settle in San Diego in January 2000. He said there was speculation about whether al-Bayoumi worked for the Saudi government.
According to Gore, al-Bayoumi helped hijackers al-Hazmi and al-Midhar by facilitating the deposit on their San Diego apartment but did not pay their rent.
He had a very high profile in the community, frequently throwing parties, Gore said, "almost like a social chairman. A very suspicious character, suspicious to a lot of people."
Gore said the San Diego FBI office flew agents to London after al-Bayoumi was found there. He was interviewed by the agents and New Scotland Yard investigators but they couldn’t find anything to charge him with.
According to several published reports, he is now living somewhere in Saudi Arabia.
While talking to NBC 7 Investigates the sheriff made it very clear: the entire Saudi community in San Diego was not to blame.
"I don't want to paint a broad brush of the Saudi community in San Diego," he said.
Gore said he believes there still remains work to be done, continuing the job the local FBI office began 15 years ago this coming September.
There still may be those "we need to arrest, charge and bring to justice," he said.
