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Davis wins first in 5 weeks, D'Backs beat Padres

Jun 6, 2009 - 6:29 AM SAN DIEGO(AP) -- Something about facing the San Diego Padres brings out the best in Doug Davis.

The Arizona left-hander hadn't won in more than five weeks, but pitched one of his best games of the season Friday night, holding the San Diego Padres to three hits in six innings in the Diamondbacks' 8-0 win.

"I felt great," Davis said. "It was awesome how the guys behind me came to play. They made some great plays out there. And the four runs in the fifth was huge. I could just go out and throw."

Davis was 0-3 in six starts since his last win on April 29. But after a solid outing in his last start, he found a rhythm against the low-scoring Padres. Davis raised his career mark to 8-3 against San Diego, including a 6-1 record with 2.14 ERA in his last seven starts.

"Great outing," Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. "He got his pitch count up, but he didn't let it get to him. He continued to throw strikes. He had a great curveball, and he used it often and very effectively."

Davis (3-6) struck out five and walked four, while Daniel Schlereth, Esmerling Vasquez and Chad Qualls finished the four-hitter for Arizona's fifth shutout.

Davis got a big lift from his offense when the Diamondbacks scored four times in the fifth to increase their lead to 5-0. Three of the four runs scored on a pair of two-out hits.

"It was nice to see," said Arizona's Chris Young, who hit a solo homer and scored twice. "That kind of makes things a little bit easier for us."

Davis has combined to allow just two runs on 10 hits over 13 1-3 innings in his last two starts.

"He threw strikes, that's the main thing," San Diego's Josh Wilson said. "He had command of three pitches and he threw all of them for strikes. That makes a hitter's job tough."

Facing a Padres lineup that's tied for last in the majors in runs scored, Davis said he wanted to make sure Adrian Gonzalez didn't hurt him. Gonzalez leads the majors with 22 home runs, but finished 0-for-2 with two walks. Both walks came with a runner on first base.

"If he was going to swing, he was going to have to swing at a pitch out of the zone," Davis said. "I'm not going to give into him, even with a guy on, with as hot as he is swinging the bat. I'd rather walk him and set up the double play for the next guy."

Gonzalez has walked 13 times in his last seven games.

San Diego was shut out for the fifth time this season. The Padres lost their fourth straight, and sixth in seven games.

"We need guys in front of Adrian to get on base and the guys behind Adrian to knock guys in," Padres manager Bud Black said.

Chris Snyder drove in three runs, including two during the Diamondbacks' four-run fifth inning. Young hit his fourth homer and scored twice, and Mark Reynolds had three hits for Arizona, which won for just the second time in five games.

Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton threw out a runner at home in the sixth during the Padres' only serious scoring threat.

After Young gave Arizona a 1-0 lead in the second, the Diamondbacks scored four times in the fifth off Chad Gaudin (2-4).

Felipe Lopez singled with one out and scored on Gerardo Parra's double. Stephen Drew walked with two outs and Reynolds followed with an RBI single. Snyder then lined a ball into the right center-field gap for a two-run single.

The Diamondbacks added a run in the eighth on pinch-hitter Josh Whitesell's run-scoring single, and two in the ninth, including Snyder's RBI single.

Gaudin allowed five runs on six hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked four.

The Padres' best chance to score was thwarted when Upton threw out David Eckstein at home plate in the sixth inning. Eckstein was attempting to score from second base on a line-drive single to right field by Chase Headley.

Eckstein and Headley each finished with two singles.

Notes: Drew extended his hitting streak to nine games with a ninth-inning double. ... Gaudin had no better success against the Diamondbacks than in his last start against them on May 25 at Arizona when he gave up seven runs on five hits, five walks in 5 1-3 innings. ... When Upton threw out Eckstein in the sixth, it was only the third outfield assist this season for Arizona. ... Padres RHP Jake Peavy had his scheduled start on Sunday moved back to Monday to allow him extra time to recover from an upper respiratory infection. Peavy, who will face the Diamondbacks in the finale of San Diego's 10-game homestand, will be replaced on Sunday by rookie Josh Geer.