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Twins pound Maddux, win eighth straight

Jun 26, 2008 - 5:59 AM By Tim Powers PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Glen Perkins pitched five effective innings and the Minnesota Twins used two home runs to surge to a 9-3 triumph over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.

Brendan Harris' fourth-inning shot off San Diego starter Greg Maddux broke a 3-3 tie and gave Perkins and three relievers all the support they would need to secure a season-high eighth straight win for the Twins.

It was the fourth homer of the season for Harris, who hit the decisive blast one night earlier against all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman.

"Sometimes they come in bunches," Harris said. "I'm not going to sit here and say it's just another couple of home runs. I'll have to put little stars next to those - they're pretty good memories. We got the win and went ahead on both nights, so that felt pretty good."

Craig Monroe's pinch-hit home run in the eighth tacked on two insurance runs and put the game away at 9-3.

"It was a good night for us swinging the bats," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We just came out and hit the ball all over the place. Monroe comes up and hits a big home run out in Yellowstone. Beating Maddux is pretty exciting for us."

Perkins (4-2) fell behind early in the game, allowing three runs in the first two innings, before Minnesota rallied back to even the score in the third.

The 25-year-old righthander settled down from there, blanking San Diego over his final two frames. He yielded six hits in total while striking out two batters and walking two.

Brian Bass, Craig Breslow and Boof Bonser combined to hold the Padres scoreless for the final four innings.

"You don't want to get behind (Maddux) too often," Gardenhire said. "Our guys came out and played the game and got some good swings and banged the ball around enough that we got a nice lead there. Then our bullpen came in and did a nice job."

Maddux (3-6) fell apart in the third and eventually surrendered seven runs over 5 2/3 innings. The 42-year-old righthander is still looking for his first victory since May 10, when he notched career win No. 350. He walked two and struck out three.

"I think in a couple of critical spots there were some key hits for them," Padres manager Bud Black said. "The two-out hits got (Maddux) tonight, but he came out and looked sharp right from the get-go. He hung in there through the sixth. We just couldn't add on after the early three runs."

Scott Hairston collected a pair of hits for the reeling Padres, who have lost four straight and eight of nine.