San Diego, CA (Sports Network) – Cory Luebke pitched six shutout innings to earn his first major league win, and the San Diego Padres swept a three-game series from the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 4-0 victory.
Luebke (1-1) made just his second career appearance and allowed two hits and a walk while fanning seven for the Padres, who stretched their division lead to two games over the Giants. San Francisco, which San Diego plays for four games starting Thursday, lost to Arizona on Wednesday.
Luis Durango had two hits, a stolen base and two RBI, while Adrian Gonzalez and Miguel Tejada each drove in a run in the win, San Diego’s third straight following a 10-game losing streak.
Matt Kemp doubled for the Dodgers, losers in five straight to fall two games below .500 (69-71). Chad Billingsley (11-9) surrendered four runs, six hits and five walks in just 5 1/3 frames to take the loss.
The Padres got all the offense they needed with a run in the third when Durango singled with one out, stole second and scored on Tejada’s two-out single to center.
While Luebke shut down the Dodgers, San Diego added some insurance in the sixth.
Will Venable singled leading off, and Everth Cabrera put down a bunt single. David Eckstein reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt, loading the bases with nobody out, and Durango’s single chased home Venable and Cabrera for a 3-0 lead.
Gonzalez added a sacrifice fly later in the inning for a four-run cushion.
Luebke allowed just one runner to reach third in his start, and Ryan Webb pitched a perfect seventh. Ernesto Frieri, Joe Thatcher and Luke Gregerson combined on a scoreless eighth, and Gregerson stayed on to finish the game out with a flawless ninth for his second save.
San Diego leads the season series, 8-7…Padres catcher Nick Hundley turned 27 on Wednesday. He did not play…Gonzalez extended his hit streak to 11 games…The Dodgers matched their season-worst losing streak…Billingsley fell to 10-6 in his career against the Padres…When San Diego records a stolen base, it is 51-13.
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