• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Peavy effective as Padres edge Mets

Aug 23, 2007 - 3:26 AM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Mets may have run wild, but they could not keep up with Jake Peavy.

Peavy pitched in and out of trouble and struck out 11 in six solid innings to continue his road dominance this season as the San Diego Padres posted a 7-5 victory over the Mets on Wednesday night.

Khalil Greene had three hits and three RBI and rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff added two run-scoring hits for the Padres, who evened the three-game series at one win apiece after squandering a ninth-inning lead in Tuesday's 7-6 loss.

"It shows that after a tough loss we have an ability to come back and win," Padres manager Bud Black said.

The Mets stole five bases, including three by Jose Reyes, giving him a club-record 67 this season. Reyes eclipsed the previous mark of 66 set by Roger Cedeno in 1999.

But that ended up as only a minor irritation to Peavy (14-5), who won his fifth straight decision overall and improved to 8-0 on the road this season.

"I just had to block him out and let him steal," Peavy admitted. "He could run all he wants, I just said, 'I have to concentrate on getting guys out.'"

The All-Star righthander allowed two runs and two hits, walking five and reaching double digits in strikeouts for the third time in five starts.

The Mets did not have a hit until Reyes singled with one out in the fifth. He went to second on a groundout and, after a walk to David Wright, stole third as part of a double steal for the record-breaking theft.

"I'm not here to break records," Reyes said. "I'm just here to put myself in scoring position and to score runs."

Beltran brought both runners home with a double that cut the Mets' deficit to 4-2. The veteran center fielder has 21 RBI since coming off the disabled list on August 10.

Peavy was not sharp early, walking four batters in the first three innings and working his way out of a bizarre third frame in which he walked two, threw a wild pitch and allowed three stolen bases.

"Overall, I felt great. I was just getting myself into jams," Peavy said. "I just can't let my emotions get the best of me."

Reyes struck out but reached safely on a wild pitch and proceeded to steal second and third. Luis Castillo walked and stole second before Wright also drew a free pass.

Peavy then struck out Beltran looking and got Carlos Delgado to fly out to left field. Delgado struck out with a pair of runners on to end the first and popped out with a runner on second to end the fifth.

"I didn't have good at-bats tonight," Delgado said.

Doug Brocail tossed a scoreless inning, Kevin Cameron hurled 1 1/3 frames and closer Trevor Hoffman, who blew the save Tuesday night, got the final two outs for his 32nd save. Having relieved Cameron, who allowed three runs in the ninth, Hoffman struck out the potential tying run in Delgado to end the game.

Former Padre Brian Lawrence (1-1) took the loss, allowing four runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out two and walked four.

"It really didn't affect the way I pitched," Lawrence said of facing his former teammates. "I obviously want to go out and do better."

Greene gave San Diego the lead with an RBI single in the second. Adrian Gonzalez and Mike Cameron singled in the fourth before Kouzmanoff grounded an RBI double down the left field line to make it 2-0.

The Padres added a pair of runs in the fifth. Brian Giles scored when first baseman Delgado misplayed a ground ball by Gonzalez, and Mike Cameron followed with an RBI single.

The Padres scored three times in the seventh against Guillermo Mota on a two-run single by Greene and an RBI double by Kouzmanoff.

"When you play against a team like that, you have to add on runs," Mike Cameron said.

Wright walked four times for the Mets, who lost for just the second time in nine games and struck out 15 times overall.