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Maddux passes Clemens as Dodgers edge Giants

Sep 28, 2008 - 5:01 AM By Al Barba PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Greg Maddux moved into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time wins list as he pitched the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.

Maddux (8-13) passed Roger Clemens with his 355th career victory.

Maddux was a master of efficiency, needing just 47 pitches - 38 strikes - to get through six innings. The righthander allowed one run and two hits with two strikeouts to improve to 31-15 lifetime against San Francisco.

"In all honesty, I felt like this game has given me more than I ever thought it would in the first place," Maddux said. "I just wanted, really, to pitch good tonight and try to get ready for the next season that gets going next week. I'm just glad to have a good game. I haven't had many since I've been here. It was nice to go out and have one."

Maddux threw just three pitches out of the stretch, all after allowing a leadoff single by Omar Vizquel in the sixth inning. Vizquel promptly was thrown out attempting to steal second base.

"(Maddux) was so blase about it. We were possibly talking about pinch-hitting for him before he went out in the sixth," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "He was remarkable tonight with his ball-strike differential. I've watched and admired him from across the field. He changes speed so well.

"He, more than any other pitcher, can read body language of the opposing hitter more that any I have ever seen. He just has a sense for pitching. It's certainly shown up over his career."

Maddux gave way to Chad Billingsley and Takashi Saito, who limited San Francisco to two hits over the final three innings. Saito worked a scoreless ninth to notch his 18th save of the season.

For Giants starter Matt Cain (8-14), it was another tough-luck outing as he yielded two runs, eight hits and four walks. Cain, who struck out six while throwing 114 pitches, fell to 0-6 against Los Angeles in 11 career starts.

"(Cain) pitched a great game," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Maddux, he was vintage Maddux. He threw great. He threw strikes. Those are always tough losses, especially for Matt. That is two good games back to back he was thrown against them. We couldn't give him runs, but they pitched well, too. We just couldn't do much offensively."

Cain walked a tightrope as he pitched with runners on base in five of his seven innings.

"It ended up being where I made the mistakes and (Maddux) didn't," Cain said. "The biggest mistake I made was the home run to (Blake) DeWitt. I was ahead in the count and had a chance to put him away, and I didn't. That's frustrating."

DeWitt knocked in both runs for the Dodgers with a solo blast in the third a single in the seventh.

Randy Winn accounted for the Giants' only run, leading off the fourth with a blast over the right-center field wall for his 10th home run of the season.