Padres Do the Dodgers a Big Favor by Winning

Phil Nevin went three for four with a homer and two runs batted in as the San Diego Padres defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2, Monday night to match a season high with their fifth consecutive victory.

Because of the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory at Milwaukee, the Diamondbacks saw their lead in the National League West trimmed to a half game.

Nevin hit an RBI double in a three-run first inning and added his 27th homer in the eighth.

Bubba Trammell and Wiki Gonzalez also drove in runs for the Padres, who won for the first time in four games in Phoenix this season.

Woody Williams (7-8) gave up one run and six hits in five innings to win for the first time in three starts. He walked two and struck out two.

Chuck McElroy, Rudy Seanez and Jose Nunez combined to give up one unearned run and two hits in three innings before Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 23rd save in 25 chances.

Damian Miller hit an RBI double in the second inning and scored in the seventh for the Diamondbacks.

Miller singled off McElroy, reached third on a double by Craig Counsell and scored when a hard grounder by Luis Gonzalez got past backup first baseman Alex Arias.

Arias was playing because Ryan Klesko left after the fifth inning to have his sore right knee evaluated.

Nevin hit a solo homer with one out in the eighth off Bret Prinz, the third Arizona pitcher.

Nick Bierbrodt, (2-2), Arizona’s top pick in the 1996 amateur draft from Long Beach Millikan High, worked five innings, giving up three runs, five hits and three walks.

It was his first major league appearance since June 26, when he gave up four home runs and six runs in a 10-7 loss to Houston.

This time, Bierbrodt was shaky at the start, walking Rickey Hendrson and Damian Jackson on nine pitches. After forcing Jackson at second on Klesko’s tapper back to the mound, Bierbrodt grooved a pitch to Nevin, who drove it to the base of the center-field wall to score Henderson.

Trammell and Gonzalez followed with RBI singles, giving the Padres a 3-0 lead.

Colorado 8, San Francisco 2--Mike Hampton broke out of a seven-start slump, pitching a five-hitter at Denver as the Rockies sent the Giants to their third consecutive loss.

Neifi Perez hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs for the Rockies, who won for just the sixth time in 31 games.

Hampton, 0-5 with an 8.06 earned-run average in his previous seven starts, had a two-hit shutout through seven innings before pinch-hitter Shawon Dunston hit a two-run homer in the eighth.

Hampton (10-7), who hadn’t won since June 10, struck out five and walked two.

Barry Bonds, stuck on 42 homers, went one for three. He hasn’t homered since hitting two off Hampton last Wednesday.

Russ Ortiz (11-6), who had won his previous three starts, gave up eight runs in seven innings.

Chicago 6, Houston 2--Corey Patterson and Miguel Cairo homered at Houston as the Cubs defeated the Astros for a split of their four-game series.

Chicago left Houston with a three-game lead in the NL Central, the same margin the Cubs brought with them to Texas last Friday.

Kerry Wood (9-6) won for the first time in four starts since July 3, giving up two runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings and striking out five.

Roy Oswalt (8-2), who had been 6-0 in eight previous starts this year, gave up four runs and six hits in six innings. Houston had been unbeaten in his previous starts.

Cincinnati 5, Atlanta 4--Pinch-hitter Todd Walker drove in the go-ahead run with a two-run single in a five-run eighth inning at Atlanta as the Reds rallied past the Braves.

Tom Glavine, trying to win his fourth consecutive decision, took a six-hit shutout and a 3-0 lead into the eighth. But reliever Mike Remlinger (3-2) gave up a run-scoring triple to Ken Griffey Jr. and an RBI single to Sean Casey.

Walker, acquired from Colorado last week, singled with the bases loaded off Jose Cabrera for a 4-3 lead, and pinch-hitter D.T. Comer followed with a sacrifice fly.

Scott Sullivan (3-1) pitched a one-hit seventh inning for the win, and Danny Graves gave up a run in the ninth but finished for his 17th save.

Atlanta failed to open what would have been a season-high three-game lead over second-place Philadelphia in the NL East.

Montreal 3, Philadelphia 0--Javier Vazquez pitched a seven-hit shutout and struck out 10 for the Expos at Philadelphia.

Orlando Cabrera, Michael Barrett and Jose Vidro had RBIs for the Expos. The Phillies dropped to 4-8 since the All-Star break.

Vazquez (9-9) did not walk a batter in his second complete game of the season and fourth career shutout--second this year. Since losing four consecutive starts, he is 4-0 with a 2.98 ERA.

Montreal had just three hits off Omar Daal (10-3) before scoring twice in the sixth.