Friars Roll to 5th Straight Victory

The Padres remained perfect on their home stand, winning their 5th straight contest with a 5-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greg Maddux survived a 2 run first and lost his walkless streak just one out shy of 60 innings. But the Padres immediately rallied, plating a trio of runs in the bottom of first to permanently take the lead. The first 5 batters in Bud Black's mix-n-match lineup had at least 2 hits, with Khalil Greene recording 3 knocks and a pair of RBIs. Kevin Kouzmanoff once again manned the 3 hole with Brian Giles getting the night off against tough lefty Tom Gorzelanny. In the leadoff spot, Scott Hairston filled in admirably with Brady Clark recording another triple while manning right field. The bullpen boasted 3 scoreless appearances by Cla Meredith, Doug Brocail and Trevor Hoffman, respectively. Hoffy recorded his 2nd save in as many nights and now stands just a single save short of 40, which would surpass his own record for the 9th such season in his career.

The DBacks won to remain a game ahead of the Pads in the NL West. Meanwhile, the Dodgers lost a doubleheader to the Rockies, pulling both teams even at 4.5 games back of the Friars in the Wild Card. The Phillies won in extra innings to remain 1.5 games back.