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Peavy dominates as Padres topple Dodgers

Apr 15, 2007 - 6:33 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Jake Peavy is reclaiming his position as the dominant pitcher in the National League West. Peavy pitched seven strong innings and the San Diego Padres' offense piled on Los Angeles Dodgers starter Jason Schmidt to claim a 7-2 victory at Dodger Stadium. Peavy (2-0), who struggled through an 11-14 campaign in 2006, yielded just one run and three hits in seven innings to pick up his second win of the season.

"I felt pretty sharp out there tonight," Peavy said. "I located real well and hit my spots."

"He had good stuff out there today, more than we could handle," Dodgers manager Grady Little said.

The 25-year-old righthander, who was one of the most dominant pitchers in the NL in 2004-2005, has now allowed just two runs in 20 innings this season.

"Last year I was just never quite healthy," Peavy said. "Now, I'm feeling better and I just want to execute on every pitch." Schmidt (1-2), who signed a three-year, $47 million deal in the offseason, struggled from the start, surrendering a solo blast to Brian Giles in the first inning before allowing San Diego to bat around in the second. Each of the first five hitters in the second frame came around to score.

"You know it's going to be a tough battle because six to nothing is tough to come back from," Dodger catcher Russell Martin said. "We've seen him much better in the past," Little said. "We'll see him much better in the future."

He was replaced after allowing a single and a walk to begin the third inning. "It's just one of those days," Schmidt said. "It definitely wasn't one of my finest moments. No excuse, it's just a poor performance."

Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, acquired in the offseason from Cleveland for second baseman Josh Barfield, broke out of a 3-for-26 slump with a two-run homer in the second off Schmidt. The young slugger added a single in the fifth for his first two-hit game as a member of San Diego. "It feels good to get that home run out of the way," Kouzmanoff said, "get that other base hit, and drive in some runs."

"Every hit that you get when the ball's not falling in for you is big," Padres manager Bud Black said, "especially when it's a homer to give the team a boost early in the game."

Terrmel Sledge added two hits and scored two runs for the Padres, raising his average to a team-leading .389 (7-for-18).