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Maddux earns win No. 354 as Dodgers roll past Padres

Sep 2, 2008 - 4:22 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Greg Maddux's age continues to climb, but so does his win total on the all-time list.

The 42-year-old Maddux tossed 5 2/3 innings and earned his 354th career victory as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres, 5-2, on Monday.

A four-time National League Cy Young Award winner, Maddux (7-11) tied Roger Clemens for eighth on the all-time wins list by holding his former team to two runs and six hits while striking out four and walking none.

"I don't like to think about wins, but to just go out there and pitch my game and hope the team can pull out a win," Maddux said. "We are playing good lately and I hope it continues."

It was the righthander's third start with the Dodgers since the Padres traded him back to Los Angeles on August 19, after Brad Penny went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He hadn't faced the Padres since beating them with the Dodgers on September 15, 2006.

"(Maddux) was aggressive in the strike zone and you just have to be ready when Greg is on the mound since he pitches to contact and throws a lot of strikes," Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier said.

Maddux was 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 26 starts for San Diego this season, but moved to a team in middle of a heated race for the top spot in the tight NL West.

"(Maddux) pitched the way we have seen him pitch for us when he was here," Padres manager Bud Black said. "We got to him early, but he just settled down."

Despite dropping 10 of 11 and eight in a row prior to Saturday's win, the Dodgers (68-70) trail the Arizona Diamondbacks (70-67) by 2 1/2 games.

"I thought Greg had great command" Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "After giving up three hits in the first inning, he shut them down after that. We scored some runs and had good baserunning tonight. It was a good game for us after the road trip."

James Loney erased a 1-0 deficit with an RBI single in the first to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. In the second, Angel Berroa laced a run-scoring double and Maddux singled to plate Berroa, extending the Dodgers' lead to 3-1.

"I just tried to stay inside the ball and look for pitches that I can handle," Loney said. "I'm just trying to do my job and make things happen and right now I'm feeling good at the plate."

Casey Blake belted his second homer in as many games, a solo shot in the third against Padres starter Chris Young and Manny Ramirez lifted a sacrifice fly in the seventh to cap the scoring against reliever Clay Hensley.

Young (4-5) tossed five innings and allowed four runs and six hits in his first start back from the 15-day disabled list.

"My arm felt good, I just didn't have good command of the strike zone," Young said. "That just comes with getting back into a routine again. I'm looking forward to my next start."

Kevin Kouzmanoff had an RBI single in the first and Chase Headley added a run-scoring double in the sixth for the Padres, who entered winning five of six.