Padres history (July 5): Greg Vaughn’s powerful first half

Twice, Greg Vaughn had logged 30-homer seasons for the Brewers — 30 on the dot in 1993 and then 31 at the trade deadline in 1996, when he mashed 10 more after moving on to San Diego.

But no Padre had ever logged 30 homers at the All-Star break until Vaughn’s two-homer game on this date — July 5 — in 1998 helped his teammates close the first half in first place for just the third time in franchise history.

Even more astounding, pitcher Andy Ashby completed a 7-2 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies with just 75 pitches. STATS, Inc., had never recorded a complete game with fewer than 76 pitches since it started counting pitches in 1988.

“Seventy-five pitches,” Ashby told the Union-Tribune…