Brown Holds Off Padres in Ninth

Kevin Brown refused to falter.

With one out in the ninth inning and the potential tying run at third, Brown struck out Desi Relaford and Ryan Klesko to preserve a 2-1 victory Saturday night over the San Diego Padres before 40,623 at Dodger Stadium.

Brown (13-6) tossed a two-hitter, throwing 85 strikes in 124 pitches, and established a regular-season career-high with 13 strikeouts while helping the Dodgers (82-73) win for the seventh time in eight games.

The hard-throwing right-hander lowered his earned-run average to 2.56--third-lowest in the majors--in outdueling Padre starter Woody Williams (10-7), who gave up five hits and struck out nine in a complete game.

The Padres (75-80) committed two errors behind Williams in the sixth, leading to two unearned runs. Shawn Green’s run-scoring single against a drawn-in infield provided the go-ahead run.

Brown did the rest.

“That was a heck of a pitchers’ duel that was fun to watch,” Manager Davey Johnson said. “Williams was special, and my guy was overpowering.”

The Padres scored their only run against Brown, perfect through 3 1/3 innings, in the fourth on Klesko’s single to right. Relaford walked with one out, stole second and scored on Klesko’s single.

That was the Padres’ only hit until leadoff batter Damian Jackson doubled into the left-field corner with one out in the ninth. Brown and catcher Todd Hundley persuaded Johnson to keep Brown in the game.

Jackson stole third with Relaford batting, and third baseman Adrian Beltre made a sensational play to prevent Hundley’s poor throw from going into left and enabling the tying run to score.

Relaford and Klesko were retired on called third strikes to end the game.

“I thought I was all right physically, but mentally you start to get drained,” said Brown, who has given up one run or less in eight games that he has failed to get a victory. “Sometimes it’s not the number of pitches, it’s the pitches in the situation.”

*

The Padres’ 3-2 victory in the series opener Friday night was delayed twice by rain for 2 hours 32 minutes.

With the score tied, 2-2, in the seventh, the Padres scored the go-ahead run on John Mabry’s double.

Dave Maurer (1-0) got the victory and closer Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect ninth for his 42nd save.

Antonio Osuna (3-6) took the loss. . . . Rookie right-hander Eric Gagne, who started Friday, suffered a bruised right hand after being hit with a line drive. Rookie right-hander Luke Prokopec will take Gagne’s spot in the rotation Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. ... Left fielder Gary Sheffield, sidelined because of a lumbar strain, took batting practice Saturday and hopes to return to the lineup soon. “Not today,” Sheffield said, “maybe in a couple of days.” . . . Right-hander Ismael Valdes is scheduled to undergo tests to determine the cause of numbness in his right pinkie.

TODAY

DODGERS’

CHAN HO PARK

(16-10, 3.53 ERA)

vs.

PADRES’

MATT CLEMENT

(13-15, 5.01 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 1.

TV-Fox Sports Net 2. Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

* Update--Park, who has 191 strikeouts, pitched eight scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander is 5-5 with a 4.18 ERA in his career against San Diego. Williams is 3-0 with a 3.46 ERA against the Dodgers.