Justin Turner's homer, RBI single highlight Blue Jays' 5-1 win over the Padres

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Justin Turner hit a solo homer and drove in another run with a single as the Toronto Blue Jays won for the fifth time in six games, beating the San Diego Padres 5-1 on Friday night.

“The quality of at-bats have significantly spiked, one through nine,” Turner said of the offense during the Blue Jays' winning streak. “Anytime you can get their starter out of the game in the fourth inning, fifth inning and you get to face their longer (relief) guys, that is a pretty good sign you are going to have some success.”

Toronto reliver Bowden Francis (2-2) picked up the win, allowing one hit and no runs in two innings.

"Really good night, homer to center is tough here," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Turner. “Kind of set the tone for us there. He continues to have really good at-bats.”

San Diego starter Matt Waldron (0-2) took the loss. The 27-year-old right-hander allowed seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Padres, who had won five of their last seven games before Friday, are 0-4 in Waldron’s starts this season.

Turner, who was hardily booed by Padres fans due to being a former member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, blasted a solo homer in the first inning before the Blue Jays broke the game open in the second, scoring four runs off Waldron. The key blows in the inning were a two-run double by Kevin Kiermaier and a run-scoring single by Turner.

“I didn't expect anything less, honestly,” Turner said of the boos. “It is a good thing, right? It means you have done some good things before in this stadium.”

Toronto's Yariel Rodriguez, making his second start, pitched well in a no-decision. The 27-year-old righty gave up three hits and one run while striking out seven over four innings.

“I was more relaxed, I threw my game today,” Rodriguez said through a translator about how his second start differed from his first game. “I feel very strong.”

Rodriguez, who in 2023 pitched for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic but did not play professionally, gave up a solo homer to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the third inning.

“I think the splitter was really good today. ... A lot of swing and miss,” Schneider said of Rodriguez. “I thought he was outstanding.”

The Blue Jays outslugged the Padres, finishing with an 11-5 advantage in hits. San Diego was unable to take advantage of several scoring opportunities.

“I thought we put some really good at-bats to be able to drive him out (of the game)," Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “We just weren’t able to cash in.”

San Diego's Manny Machado had his 11-game hitting streak halted, going 0 for 4.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: LHP Ricky Tiedemann (club’s No. 1 prospect) had an MRI on his elbow on Thursday and was placed on the seven-day injured list at Triple-A Buffalo. The team is waiting for the MRI results. ... OF George Springer was not in the starting lineup due to illness.

Padres: 1B Jake Cronenworth returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games because of right leg soreness. After an off-day on Thursday, Cronenworth passed all tests in pregame drills.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays will send RHP Jose Berrios (3-0, 1.05) to the mound in the second game of the series on Saturday. The Padres will start RHP Randy Vásquez (0-0), who was just called up from Triple-A El Paso, where he had a 7.94 ERA in three starts this season.

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Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Yariel Rodriguez works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Matt Waldron works against a Toronto Blue Jays batter during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill cannot reach a home run hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Justin Turner during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Justin Turner, center, celebrates with third base coach Carlos Febles (51) after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Yariel Rodriguez works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Toronto Blue Jays' Cavan Biggio, left, slides in to score off a two-RBI double by Kevin Kiermaier as San Diego Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka, center, is late with the tag during the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. tosses hit bat after hitting a home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. watches his home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Toronto Blue Jays' Justin Turner watches his RBI single during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Friday, April 19, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

LONDON (AP) — Britain's governing Conservative Party is suffering heavy losses as local election results pour in Friday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a U.K. general election in which the main opposition Labour Party appears increasingly likely to return to power after 14 years.

Labour won control of councils in England it hasn't held for decades and was successful in a special by-election for Parliament. Its only negative has been in some areas with large Muslim populations, such as Oldham in northwest England, where the party's candidates appear to have suffered as a result of leader Keir Starmer 's strongly pro-Israel stance in the conflict in Gaza.

Perhaps of most importance in the context of the looming general election, Labour won Blackpool South, a long-time Labour seat in the northwest of England that went Conservative in the last general election in 2019, when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a big victory. In the contest, triggered by the resignation of a Conservative lawmaker following a lobbying scandal, Labour’s Chris Webb secured 10,825 votes, 7,607 more than his second-placed Conservative opponent.

“This seismic win in Blackpool South is the most important result today," Starmer said. “This is the one contest where voters had the chance to send a message to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives directly, and that message is an overwhelming vote for change."

Thursday’s elections were important in themselves, with voters deciding who will run many aspects of their daily lives, such as garbage collection, road maintenance and local crime prevention, in the coming years. But with a general election looming, they will be viewed through a national prism.

The results so far provide more evidence that Labour is likely to form the next government — and by quite a margin — and that Starmer will become prime minister.

As of early Friday, with barely a quarter of the 2,661 seats up for grabs counted, the Conservatives were down 115 while Labour was up 60. Labour has won in areas, which voted heavily for Britain's departure from the European Union and where it was crushed by Johnson, such as Hartlepool in the northeast of England, and Thurrock in southeast England. It also seized control of Rushmoor, a leafy and military-heavy council in the south of England where it has never been in power.

John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said the results so far indicate that the Conservatives are losing around half of the seats they are trying to defend.

“We are probably looking at certainly one of the worst, if not the worst, Conservative performances in local government elections for the last 40 years," he told BBC radio.

The results will roll in through Saturday. Sunak hopes he can point to successes, notably in several key mayoral races, to douse talk that the Conservative Party will change its leader again before the United Kingdom’s main election, which could take place as soon as next month.

Key to his survival could be the results of mayoral elections in Tees Valley in the northeast of England and in the West Midlands. The former is due Friday midday and the latter on Saturday. Should Conservative mayors Andy Street and Ben Houchen hold on, he may win some respite from restive lawmakers in his party. Should both lose, he may face trouble. Labour's Sadiq Khan is expected to remain mayor of London when results are announced on Saturday..

Sunak could preempt any challenge by threatening to call a general election that has to take place before January 2025. He has the power to decide on the date and has indicated that it will be in the second half of 2024.

Sunak became prime minister in October 2022 after the short-lived tenure of his predecessor, Liz Truss, who left office after 49 days following a budget of unfunded tax cuts that roiled financial markets and sent borrowing costs for homeowners surging.

Her chaotic — and traumatic — leadership compounded the Conservatives' difficulties following the circus surrounding her predecessor Johnson, who was forced to quit after being adjudged to have lied to Parliament over lockdown breaches at his offices in Downing Street.

Nothing Sunak has tried to do appears to have shifted the political dial, with Labour consistently 20 percentage points ahead in opinion polls, which would lead, if translated into a general election, to a landslide victory on a par with that achieved by Tony Blair in 1997.

FILE - A woman leaves a polling station after voting in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Britain's governing Conservative Party is suffering heavy losses as local election results pour in Friday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a U.K. general election in which the main opposition Labour Party appears increasingly likely to return to power after 14 years. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Counting begins at the Blackpool South by-election at Blackpool Sports Centre in Blackpool, England, Thursday, May 2, 2024. The by-election was triggered after the resignation of Scott Benton. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

FILE - A woman pushes a buggy as she arrives to vote at a polling station in London, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Britain's governing Conservative Party is suffering heavy losses as local election results pour in Friday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a U.K. general election in which the main opposition Labour Party appears increasingly likely to return to power after 14 years. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)