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Billingsley, Dodgers shut down Padres

Apr 7, 2012 - 5:55 AM San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Chad Billingsley sparkled, coming within two outs of throwing a shutout, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled to a 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

The Dodgers won the opener of this four-game series, 5-3, on Thursday despite getting just three innings from NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who had the flu.

A day later, Billingsley (1-0) nearly went the distance to start his seventh season in a Dodgers uniform.

He retired 16 straight batters before allowing a one-out hit in the ninth and was taken out for Jamey Wright, who got two outs to finish off the shutout.

"I've talked about us seeing Kershaw grow up, but we've seen Billingsley in the same timeline," said Padres manager Bud Black. "Tonight was probably as good as I've seen him."

Billingsley allowed just three hits and a walk and struck out 11 in his 8 1/3 innings while Andre Ethier knocked in four of LA's six runs as the Dodgers won their first two games for the second straight season.

"Those guys set the tone for us," said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.

The Padres committed two errors and had three hits one day after having three errors and five hits in the opener.

Padres starter Cory Luebke (0-1) gave up six runs -- five earned -- on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss.

Luebke fanned six, but the Dodgers jumped on him early, getting singles from Mark Ellis and Juan Rivera and a two-run double from Ethier to the right field wall.

In the third, they scored two more runs on a bevy of Padres mistakes.

Ellis hit a one-out double, then scored on Matt Kemp's grounder to third base after Chase Headley bounced a throw wide to first base and Yonder Alonso threw wide to home as Ellis slid across. The second run scored on Rivera's pop fly behind the infield that shortstop Juan Guzman dropped for a hit.

Ethier chased Luebke from the game with a two-run triple in the fifth inning and the Dodgers cruised the rest of the way behind their starter.

Billingsley set down 16 straight between Will Venable's leadoff double in the fourth inning and Cameron Maybin's one-out single in the ninth. He was pulled after Maybin's hit and Wright got two quick outs.

"I was getting ahead with my fastball and was able to mix in all my off-speed pitches and it was just one of those days where everything felt really good," said Billingsley. "Good tempo, good rhythm."

Game Notes

The Dodgers have won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the NL West-rival Padres...San Diego is 0-2 for the first time since starting the 2003 season 0-3...LA had 10 hits.