Maddux's walkless streak ends, but Padres win fifth straight

Padres 5, Pirates 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Greg Maddux has been around so long that even an average outing can produce a major league record.

Maddux slogged through five innings -- issuing his first walk in 10 starts -- and the San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 on Tuesday night, the fifth straight victory for the NL wild-card leaders.

Khalil Greene had three hits, reached base five times and drove in two runs for the Padres, who remained 1½ games in front of Philadelphia in the wild-card race. The Phillies beat St. Louis 7-4 in 14 innings.

The Padres also stayed a game behind first-place Arizona in the NL West after the Diamondbacks beat San Francisco 5-0.

Maddux (13-10) won for the sixth time in seven decisions and for the 346th time in his career. The Padres have won eight of his last 10 starts.

"It was a good team win," Maddux said.

The 41-year-old right-hander also reached 13 wins for the 20th consecutive season, passing Cy Young for the major league record.

It wasn't his prettiest start, though. Maddux fell behind 2-0 in the first inning and ended up allowing three runs and seven hits. He struck out two and walked two.

Division Magic Numbers
The magic number is derived by adding one to the number of remaining games and subtracting the number of games ahead in the loss column from the second-place team. Here's where the leaders stand:
AL EAST
Red Sox	9
AL CENTRAL
Indians	5
AL WEST
Angels	4
NL EAST
Mets	11
NL CENTRAL
Brewers/Cubs	12
NL WEST
D-backs	11

Maddux's streak of not walking a batter ended at 59 2/3 innings when he walked Jason Bay on a full-count pitch to load the bases with two outs in the third and the Padres leading 4-2. Maddux then got Ronny Paulino to fly out to end the inning.

Maddux hadn't walked a batter since July 28 at Houston, when he issued ball four to pitcher Roy Oswalt in the second inning. Maddux went through his next nine starts without walking a batter, and his overall string reached 244 batters.

Maddux wasn't disappointed the streak ended.

"You pitch to win games. You beat lineups, you don't beat hitters," he said. "You don't want to give in to keep from walking somebody. You want to try to keep making the best pitch you can. I've always thought I'm trying to get the hitter out, not trying not to walk him. Walks are going to happen. I didn't want to walk the guy I walked, but it happened, and I'm just glad they didn't score."

The streak was the second-longest of Maddux's career. In 2001, he set the NL record at 72 1/3 innings.

"The guy is still amazing," Pittsburgh's Freddy Sanchez said. "You could tell that this wasn't his sharpest game, but he still makes you battle every at-bat for everything you get. We got to him some but he makes you earn it."

Ex-Padre Xavier Nady had three hits off Maddux, including a solo homer into the second deck in left field with two outs in the fifth to pull the Pirates to 4-3.

Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 39th save in 44 chances, extending his career record to 521.

Maddux was coming off his shortest stint of the season, when he lasted only 3 1/3 innings in a 6-3 loss to former teammate David Wells and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Mad Dog got in trouble in the first and third innings, and allowed Nady's 18th homer in the fifth.

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead with four straight hits with two outs in the first. Nady singled to bring in the first run, and Bay followed with an RBI double.

The Padres jumped ahead 3-2 in their half on two hits, two walks, a hit batsman and a sacrifice fly. Greene was hit on the left shin with the bases loaded and one out to force in the first run, Michael Barrett followed with a sacrifice fly and Marcus Giles hit an RBI single.

San Diego made it 4-2 in the second when Adrian Gonzalez singled in Scott Hairston. Greene hit an RBI single in the sixth.

Pirates lefty Tom Gorzelanny (14-8) also went five innings, allowing four runs and nine hits, striking out four and walking four. It was just the fifth time in 30 starts he didn't pitch longer than five innings.

"I didn't feel good from the beginning," Gorzelanny said. "I was walking guys and that's the big thing."

Game notes
Cy Young had 13 or more wins for 19 straight seasons, from 1891-1909. ... Pirates SS Jack Wilson left in the seventh with tightness in his right hamstring. He apparently was hurt leaping for Mike Cameron's flare into left field leading off the sixth. He was replaced by Cesar Izturis. ... The Padres stranded 14 baserunners. ... Pirates LHP Zach Duke is scheduled to start Saturday at Chicago, meaning Pittsburgh will throw three lefties against the Cubs. The others are Paul Maholm on Friday and Gorzelanny on Sunday. ... Padres manager Bud Black said LF Milton Bradley could be back as soon as Friday from the oblique injury that's kept him out since Sept. 7. Bradley continues to feel better swinging from the right side but still a little sore swinging lefty, Black said.