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Tomko sharp as Padres win seventh straight

Sep 20, 2007 - 11:51 PM By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Brett Tomko hurled six stellar innings as the surging San Diego Padres complete a four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with 6-3 triumph on Thursday afternoon.

Rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in a pair of runs for the Padres, who maintained a perfect record through the first seven contests of their 10-game homestand. San Diego's stellar play has come at an important time.

The win was a season-high seventh in a row for the Padres (85-67), who pulled within one-half game of the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks (86-67) in the National League West Division. San Diego leads the NL wild card race by three games over Philadelphia (82-70), which plays at Washington later Thursday night.

"It's a lot of fun," Kouzmanoff said. "It seems like time is flying by and we've got a good shot in the playoff race. That's why we're here - to win and go to the postseason."

Tomko (4-11) won his second straight start since signing with the Padres earlier this month after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 34-year-old righthander allowed three runs and five hits while striking out six without a walk.

He retired the final 11 batters he faced.

"The ball was coming out of my hand good, and I had all of my pitches working," Tomko said. "I think it's great because of the fact of when I got designated keeps me out of the playoffs. So, this is my playoff race. To come and basically double my win total from LA in two games is definitely a satisfying feeling."

Doug Brocail tossed a scoreless seventh inning and Heath Bell worked a clean eighth, setting up Trevor Hoffman for his 40th save. It marks the ninth straight season the all-time saves leader has reached the plateau, extending his own major league record.

"I say things like individual accomplishments are obtained from team success, and that's definitely the case in this situation," Hoffman said. "To reach a milestone like that takes a group effort. I've definitely been a benefactor of a lot of people around me."

Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead as Nyjer Morgan led off the game with a triple and scored on Cesar Izturis' groundout.

Scott Hairston and Michael Barrett keyed a three-run second against Pirates starter Matt Morris to give San Diego the advantage.

Carlos Maldonado homered as Pittsburgh scored two in the third to tie the game. But San Diego added three runs in the bottom half to build a 6-3 cushion.

Morris (9-11) was hit hard for the second consecutive outing, allowing six runs in four innings. In his previous start, he surrendered seven runs in 3 1/3 frames against Houston.

"What I saw today was that they hit a couple of (Morris') breaking balls," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "Obviously, they got a couple of guys on base and there were some doubles hit. They scored runs and got the lead."

The 33-year-old righthander did not walk or strike out a batter.

Morgan had two hits and scored twice for the Pirates, who have lost six straight.

"That's definitely a good team over there," Morgan said of the Padres. "They're hungry right now because they're definitely trying for a playoff spot. As long as we just keep going out there, we'll try to finish the season strong."