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Diamondbacks end Padres' 10-game winning streak

May 27, 2009 - 5:39 AM By ANDREW BAGNATO AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX(AP) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks made a six-run lead stand up this time - barely.

Max Scherzer struck out 10 and drove in two runs, Chris Young made a leaping catch at the fence for the final out and Arizona held off San Diego 6-5 on Tuesday night to snap the Padres' 10-game winning streak.

The Diamondbacks nearly blew a six-run lead for the second straight day. On Monday, they let the Padres rally from a 7-1 deficit in the eighth for a 9-7 victory in 10 innings.

On Tuesday night, the Padres scored four in the eighth to pull to 6-4, then loaded the bases against Juan Gutierrez with no outs in the ninth.

"I was like, 'Here we go again,"' said Arizona's Mark Reynolds, who hit his team-high 13th homer.

But with the potential tying run at third, Young ended the game with a terrific grab on a drive to center by Kevin Kouzmanoff. Young's play meant the Diamondbacks wouldn't have to relive their Memorial Day nightmare.

"They did that to us in the eighth inning yesterday," Scherzer said. "It just rips your gut apart when that happens, and they were starting to do it again, in the eighth inning again. For us to show resiliency and get the win, that's the important part."

Before the game, Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said Gutierrez might be called on to finish the game because closer Chad Qualls and setup man Tony Pena had pitched in five of the last seven games.

"Going into today, there was no chance I was going to go with Qualls and Pena," Hinch said. "Five out of seven is trending the wrong way when it comes to relievers and their long-term health."

Gutierrez got five outs for his first career save, but not without drama.

In the eighth, he gave up an RBI single and allowed another run to score on a wild pitch as the Padres closed to 6-4.

With many in the Chase Field crowd of 18,631 booing loudly, Gutierrez opened the ninth by giving up singles to Tony Gwynn Jr. and Brian Giles before hitting David Eckstein with a pitch to load the bases.

"When I got the bases loaded, I thought, I've got to throw the right pitch," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez got former Diamondback Scott Hairston to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play. That cut Arizona's lead to 6-5 and put the potential tying run at third base for Kouzmanoff.

After Kouzmanoff hit a bloop that fell inches foul down the right-field line, he crushed a pitch that Young pulled down against the wall.

As Young's teammates greeted him with high fives, no one was more relieved than Scherzer.

It took Scherzer 14 starts to earn his first victory. Now he has two in a span of three starts.

Scherzer (2-3) dominated the Padres, who entered with a major league-worst .234 team batting average. He gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings, walking none.

"I haven't seen a lot of him live, but that's a legit arm," San Diego manager Bud Black said.

Scherzer also helped himself with the bat, doubling home the game's first run in the fifth inning off Kevin Correia (1-3). Scherzer added an RBI single in the sixth as the Diamondbacks took a 6-0 lead.

Former Diamondback Chris Burke homered leading off the eighth to cut Arizona's lead to 6-1, and San Diego made it 6-2 when Esmerling Vasquez hit Kouzmanoff with a pitch with the bases loaded.

Gutierrez came on and gave up an RBI single to Chase Headley, then allowed a run to score on a wild pitch.

Adrian Gonzalez, scratched from the starting lineup with flu symptoms, came on as a pinch hitter with the bases loaded and flied out to end the rally.

"I just missed it," Gonzalez said. "It was a good pitch to hit. It's a game of inches. One inch more on top of the ball and it's a home run."

Notes: Arizona RHP Brandon Webb, who has missed seven weeks with a strained right shoulder, will begin a throwing regimen this week but could still be two or three weeks from returning. ... San Diego OF Cliff Floyd, out with a knee injury, could return when the Padres open a three-game series at Colorado on Friday.