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Wolf sharp as Dodgers beat Padres

Jun 12, 2008 - 5:25 AM By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Randy Wolf tossed seven stellar innings and the San Diego Padres belted a pair of home runs to take down the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1, on Wednesday and even the three-game series at one win apiece.

A former Dodger, Wolf (5-4) allowed just four hits en route to his third straight victory. The one blemish against the lefthander came in the fourth, when Andy LaRoche hit his first home run of the season.

The 31-year-old Wolf gave up little else while tying a season high with nine strikeouts and walking one.

"We had some big hits today," Wolf said. "I just tried to go as deep as I could in the game and keep their offense down. We did a good job of scoring some runs today."

It continued a torrid stretch for Wolf, who is 3-0 with a 1.91 ERA and 30 strikeouts over his last five starts.

"For the most part, I've felt pretty good about the way I've been throwing," Wolf said. "I've been talking about my curveball and getting a better feel for that. If there's any key to pitching better, I think it's just getting that curveball feel a little better."

"I thought Randy had good command of all four pitches," Padres manager Bud Black said. "What it boils down to is, every pitcher throughout the course of the game has a challenge, and what he has seemed to do over the last month, whenever that challenge has presented itself, he's made the pitch or pitches to get out of the inning. In a nutshell, he's making pitches."

Heath Bell tossed a scoreless eighth in front of all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman, who worked around a double in the ninth to notch his 15th save in 18 chances and give San Diego its ninth win in 13 games.

Edgar Gonzalez's solo blast in the first - his first major league home run - gave San Diego an early 1-0 lead against Los Angeles starter Chad Billingsley (4-7). Khalil Greene followed with a solo shot in the second to double the advantage.

"I got a good pitch to hit and I put a good swing on it," Edgar Gonzalez said. "I just wanted to get (the first home run) out of the way. The more I play, the more relaxed I get and more comfortable at the plate."

Wolf helped his own cause in the third, leading off with a single and coming home on a two-out base hit by Adrian Gonzalez to push the lead to 3-0. The Padres tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, when Jody Gerut singled home Greene, who led off the frame with a double.

Billingsley lasted seven innings, giving up four runs and eight hits. The 23-year-old righthander, who allowed two solo home runs for the second straight start, walked one and struck out three.

"After that first couple of innings, I was able to settle down and move the ball in and out more," Billingsley said. "I didn't really have good stuff out there, but later in the game, I kind of got a rhythm going. Unfortunately, it was too late."

The Dodgers, who have lost seven of nine road games, missed a chance to win back-to-back contests away from home since May 14-15, when they did so in Milwaukee.

"It was very frustrating tonight," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "We couldn't put anything together. We just need to be more consistent. Offensively, I think it's been pretty much our signature all year, is that we've played very inconsistently."