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Padilla effective as Rangers top Braves

Jun 18, 2008 - 4:56 AM By John Tranchina PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- In what was billed as a potential pitchers' duel, only Vicente Padilla lived up to his end of the bargain.

Padilla carried a perfect game into the fifth inning before surrendering just two hits, leading the Texas Rangers to a 7-5 interleague victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

Josh Hamilton and Marlon Byrd each hit solo homers and Milton Bradley added a two-run single during a four-run fourth inning for Texas, which continued to improve upon its major league-leading 5.6 runs per game.

While Padilla (9-3) was outstanding, the Rangers roughed up Tim Hudson (7-5) for six runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings en route to winning for just the second time in five games.

"It's unbelievable," Byrd said of the Rangers' ability to get to Hudson. "To get to him usually doesn't happen. Usually if he loses, it's a 2-1 or 3-1 game, but we got to him and knocked him out early. It's just one of those things. When this offense gets going, it's hard to stop."

The Braves fell for just the second time in their last five on the road but still own a major league-worst 10-26 record away from home.

Padilla, who had lost six consecutive decisions to Atlanta over seven starts, gave up two runs - one earned - while walking two and striking out four in notching his seventh win in eight decisions.

"Today, my fastball was moving a lot faster than before," Padilla said through an interpreter.

"I think Vicente used his fastball a lot more," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He was certainly getting ahead of hitters."

The righthander mowed down the Braves, retiring the first 13 batters he faced before Brian McCann ripped a double with one out in the fifth to end his bid for a perfect game.

"Padilla was great tonight," Rangers catcher Gerald Laird said. "His fastball was tremendous, he was lighting up the radar gun at 95, 96, 97 (miles per hour). He was working ahead, it was an unbelievable pitching performance. That's what he needed to do, and that's the Vicente that you always look to see."

Hamilton clubbed his American League-leading 19th homer in the first inning off Hudson, sending the blast into the upper deck in right field. The shot matched Hamilton's total from last year, his rookie season with Cincinnati.

"Josh hit a pretty good pitch," Hudson said. "I tried to throw a cutter in on his hands, but he got to it and hit it good."

The Rangers broke open the game with a four-run third. Gerald Laird scored on Michael Young's bases-loaded fielder's choice before Bradley lined a two-run single to right-center to make it 4-0.

"Hudson was fine," Braves manager Bobby Cox said of his starter. "In the third inning, they got a little bouncer up the middle and then a hit-and-run that found the right hole. He only gave up five or six hits, and three of them were not hit hard."

Bradley, who entered the game leading the AL in batting (.329), mildly strained his left quadriceps on his single and left the contest. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

"Milton's day-to-day," Washington said. "We'll see how he feels tomorrow. If he comes in feeling good, I'm going to play him. He was actually trying to stay in the game, and I told him it's not worth it."

Texas added another run in the fourth on David Murphy's sacrifice fly before Byrd's homer in the sixth made it 7-2.

"I think it was a changeup," Byrd said. "It was slower, it didn't have much rotation, so it was either a changeup or a split-finger up, and I just stayed on it and drove it the other way."

The Braves made things interesting in the eighth, pulling within 7-5 when McCann launched a three-run homer off reliever Eddie Guardado.

However, C.J. Wilson worked around a leadoff double by rookie Brandon Jones in the ninth to record his 14th save.