Sun Aug 26 02:59:49 2007

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Padres power past floundering Phils

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Kevin Kouzmanoff and Terrmel Sledge each hit solo homers to put the Padres on top in the ninth, and San Diego held on for a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the second of a three-game set.

Mike Cameron and Milton Bradley also homered for the Padres, who scored exclusively by the longball. Clay Hensley held the Phillies to six hits and two runs through 4 2/3 innings, and Heath Bell (6-4) tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the Padres, who have won four straight and five of six.

Brett Myers (2-5) gave up the two solo homers in the ninth for the slumping Phillies, who have dropped four straight and six of seven to fall four back of the Padres for the wild card, and seven back of the Mets in the NL East. Kyle Lohse's good effort was wasted, as he allowed only four hits and a run in 6 2/3 innings. Pat Burrell was 2-for-4 with a homer for the Phils.

Ahead 2-1, shaky reliever Tom Gordon came on for the Phils in the eighth. Gordon left a 3-0 fastball right over the heart of the plate to Bradley with one out and nobody on. Bradley had the green light and took advantage, belting a tape measure shot into the upper deck in right to tie the game at 2-2.

Myers fared no better in the ninth, letting up Kouzmanoff's leadoff blast to right, and surrendering another solo shot to the pinch-hitter Sledge. That second run proved important in the bottom of the ninth, when Trevor Hoffman gave up an RBI single to Ryan Howard with two outs, but fanned Aaron Rowand to end the game.

Hensley started well in the first inning, retiring Jimmy Rollins on a groundout and Tadahito Iguchi on a fly out, but left a fastball middle-in to Burrell, who deposited it deep into the left field stands to give the Phils the early lead.

The Phillies scratched out another run in the fourth, when Greg Dobbs bunted his way on and came home on Jayson Werth's double into the corner in left.

Hensley held the scuffling Phillies lineup to two runs, though, and Cameron pulled the Padres to within one run with his leadoff homer to left in the sixth.

Game Notes

Prior to the game, the Padres placed infielder Marcus Giles on the 15-day disabled list with a left knee sprain. Giles was injured on Friday when Philadelphia catcher Carlos Ruiz barreled into him trying to break up a double play, an incident which cleared both benches, but no punches were thrown. Ruiz was called for interference on the play, and Giles stayed in the game for one more at-bat before leaving. Infielder Craig Stansberry was recalled from Triple-A Portland to fill the roster spot. Stansberry hit a pinch-single in the seventh, becoming the first Saudi Arabian player in major league history ...Ruiz was beaned on the leg by San Diego reliever Doug Brocail with one out and nobody on in the sixth, in a move that appeared to be related to Friday's incident. Homeplate umpire Lance Diaz issued warnings to Brocail and both benches...Burrell's homer was his 20th this season. He is only the third player in Phillies history (Mike Schmidt, Bobby Abreu) with seven consecutive 20-homer seasons...The Phillies fell to 2-34 this season when scoring three runs or less.