Greg Maddux ties Roger Clemens with win No. 354, leading Dodgers to 5-2 win over Padres
By Associated Press
11:12 PM EDT, September 1, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Greg Maddux tied Roger Clemens for eighth place on the career list with his 354th victory, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday night.
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Maddux (7-11) allowed two runs and six hits, struck out four and walked none. It was the four-time Cy Young winner's third start with the Dodgers since the Padres traded him back to Los Angeles on Aug. 19, after Brad Penny went on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.
Maddux, an eight-time All-Star, has made 736 starts compared to 707 by Clemens — a seven-time Cy Young winner and 11-time All-Star — and his 225 losses are 41 more than the Rocket had during his 24-year career.
The 42-year-old Maddux has 109 complete games, 35 shutouts, 3,361 strikeouts and a 3.15 career ERA over 23 seasons. Clemens had an almost identical a 3.12 lifetime ERA with 118 complete games, 46 shutouts and 4,672 strikeouts, which is third on the all-time list.
Maddux was 6-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 26 starts for San Diego this season, including a 14-game winless streak in which he was 0-5 with a a 4.48 ERA. In his first two starts after returning to the Dodgers, he gave up nine runs and 17 hits in road losses to Philadelphia and Washington.
Hong-Chih Kuo pitched two perfect innings, striking out three, and Jonathan Broxton got three outs for his 11th save.
Chris Young (4-5) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings after being activated from the disabled list. The right-hander hadn't pitched since Aug. 10 at Colorado, when he left after four innings with a strain in his forearm.
The Dodgers, who trail Arizona by 2½ games in the NL West, took a 3-1 lead in the second on a bloop RBI double by Angel Berroa and a run-scoring single by Maddux — his 84th career RBI and third this season.
Casey Blake made it 4-1 in the third with , his 18th homer and seventh since coming to the Dodgers in a trade with Cleveland on July 26. Manny Ramirez added a sacrifice fly in the seventh for his 26th RBI in 30 games with Los Angeles.
San Diego second baseman Matt Antonelli, recalled from Triple-A Portland on Monday, started and went 1-for-4 in his major league debut with a single in his first plate appearance.