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Flores' grand slam powers Nationals past Padres

May 29, 2008 - 6:53 AM SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Tooth pain led Odalis Perez to have a restless night of sleep. However, after a pair of homers from the Washington Nationals, it was the Arizona Diamondbacks who were left feeling like they had just been to the dentist.

Jesus Flores hit a grand slam in the fourth inning Wednesday, sending the Washington Nationals to a 6-4 win over the San Diego Padres.

Lastings Milledge also hit a solo home run for the Nationals, who improved to 15-5 this season when they scored more than five runs.

"Getting those runs was very important for us," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "We needed all the runs we could get on a day like today."

The run support backed Nationals starter Odalis Perez (2-4), who allowed three runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings just a few hours after undergoing root canal surgery.

"(My tooth) has been hurting for 10 days, but last night was the worse," Perez said. "I didn't fall asleep until six in the morning and then I had to get up for the dentist at eight. I wasn't sure if I would be able to pitch today, but I had to take my chances.

"It's great anytime you can see three, four, five or six runs on the scoreboard," Perez said. "You always want runs to work with and we haven't done that lately. It's good for the pitcher's confidence to know that we are going out there and score runs."

Two relievers bridged the gap to closer Jon Rauch, who retired the side in order for his 11th save in 13 chances.

Washington entered the game as the majors' fourth-lowest scoring team, due in part to hitting just 37 homers - the third-worst mark in the National League. Wednesday's victory marked just the fifth time this month the team scored at least six runs in a game, all Nationals' wins.

With one out in a scoreless game, Flores belted a fastball from San Diego starter Shawn Estes (1-1) over the fence in left for his first career grand slam.

"He continues to have good at-bats for us, especially against lefthanded pitching," Acta said. "He doesn't get rattled in pressure situations, even with two strikes and the bases loaded there."

Milledge added his third homer of the season off reliever Mike Adams in the sixth, his second homer in five games after hitting just one through his first 47 contests.

"We all know (Milledge) is going to be able to hit for us and slug better than he has been," Acta said. "I hope he'll be able to stay comfortable and continue to impress."

"It's always good to give the team support," Milledge said. "I was just looking for something that I could drive up the middle. It's great for my confidence."

Aaron Boone added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh to give Washington a 6-1 advantage.

San Diego rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh, the first coming off the bat off of Tony Clark, whose pinch-hit double scored Luke Carlin from second. Perez was pulled for reliever Brian Sanches, who gave up a two-run homer to Scott Hairston and a single to Tadahito Iguchi.

Luis Ayala got Brian Giles to pop up to second and, two batters later, ended the Padres' threat by striking out Kevin Kouzmanoff.

"We had some opportunities," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "We put some guys on and battled back, but just couldn't get that big hit."