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Maddux, sloppy defense allow Padres to double up Giants

Jun 28, 2007 - 12:59 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Greg Maddux tossed seven strong innings and benefited from sloppy defense as the San Francisco Giants wasted another outstanding start by Matt Cain on Wednesday.

With slugger Barry Bonds out of the starting lineup, Maddux handcuffed the rest of the Giants as the San Diego Padres cruised to a 4-2 victory and kept Cain winless in his last six starts.

Maddux (7-4) allowed one run and five hits with four strikeouts to post his 340th career victory, which is second on the active all-time wins list.

"It's nice to do what you're supposed to do," said Maddux, who claimed he did not have his best stuff in the first three innings. "I felt pretty good about it today."

"That was classic Greg all the way through," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "Vintage Greg. You can put this in any of his decades. There's really no secret for his success. He's not only talented as an athlete, but he's got a great instinct to compete. I feel fortunate, the players to watch it every day, especially the four days in between.

Reliever Heath Bell surrendered a run in the eighth, but Trevor Hoffman retired the side in the ninth for his 21st save.

"When I'm in my 40s, I want to keep trucking along like they (Maddux and David Wells) are," Bell said. "Hopefully my arm will hold up and my body will hold up and hopefully I'll be able to do half of what they've been able to do because both those guys have had great careers and both are Hall of Famers. Definitely Maddux will be and Boomer should be."

With the game tied at 1-1, San Diego seized the lead in the eighth. Marcus Giles slapped a two-out double to right-center and scored on a single by Jose Cruz, Jr. After a walk, Cain gave way to Brad Hennessey, who promptly issued another walk to load the bases.

Michael Barrett followed with a sharp grounder that was bobbled by shortstop Kevin Frandsen and the Padres scored two more on the gaffe, taking a 4-1 lead.

"I tried to smother it and it happened to go underneath today," Frandsen said. "Today we had great at-bats and Matt pitched great. We just couldn't get the breaks."

For Cain (2-9), who allowed four runs - two earned - and seven hits with seven strikeouts, it was another tale of lack of run support. The Giants have scored less than two runs in 12 starts by Cain this season.

"I feel for Matt," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "The same tune unfortunately. He pitched his heart out for us and we couldn't score many runs for him. A couple of breaks go their way and that's the ballgame."

"We talk among ourselves to try and stay positive," Cain said. "You try not to think negative things and on days I don't pitch, I'm a cheerleader. We just want to keep going."

Maddux sympathized with Cain's plight and offered some sage advice.

"As soon as you stop worrying about the outcome and worry about pitch selection it really goes a long way," Maddux said. "He pitched great, but didn't have anything to show for it but a loss. It's probably the toughest thing to do. You can't worry about pitching for a result. I know that's easier said than done. You just have to worry about pitching."

The Giants have scored two or more runs in just six of Cain's 16 starts. In addition, he has allowed more than three runs only three times in his last eight starts but has six losses during that span.

"He threw hard," Padres outfielder Terrmel Sledge said. "He stayed over the top. It's hard to lay off that high fastball. He mixes in the curveball and when he throws all four pitches for strikes, he can be tough on you."

The fact that Bonds was not in the starting lineup did not help the Giants' offensive woes. Bonds, who is six home runs away from tying Hank Aaron's all-time record of 755, is traditionally left out of the lineup when the Giants play an afternoon game a day after playing a night contest.

Pedro Feliz, however, did his best Bonds impression by belting a solo home run in the second inning to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Feliz ranks second on the team with 12 homers.

"Again we were missing one more hit," Bochy said. "When you're in these tight games, you have to execute and we made a couple mistakes."

San Diego's Khalil Greene responded in kind in the fifth, blasting his second solo home run in as many days. Greene greeted San Francisco starter Barry Zito with a solo shot on Tuesday.