Smoltz has upper hand on Maddux

Two old friends had their fun, then got down to business. This could have been John Smoltz and Greg Maddux in the prime of their brilliant careers, when they were teammates -- not opponents.

Smoltz got the best of Maddux in their first head-to-head matchup since 1992, earning the victory when the Atlanta Braves rallied for two runs in the seventh inning to defeat the San Diego Padres, 3-2, Wednesday night.

Both pitchers -- with 533 wins and five Cy Young Awards between them -- showed plenty of emotion, eager to get the best of the other after spending 11 years as teammates in Atlanta.

“What a special night,” Smoltz said. “This one sure lived up to its billing, and we came out on top. That’s the extra icing on the cake.”

Smoltz (5-1) gave up home runs to Adrian Gonzalez and Geoff Blum before leaving for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning with the Padres leading, 2-1. Maddux was lifted an inning earlier, having given up four hits and a run in 5 1/3 innings.

Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones each had run-scoring hits with two outs in the seventh inning against Cla Meredith (1-1) to lift the Braves.

“I don’t mind telling you: I’m super-excited to get this win,” said Smoltz, who gave up seven hits and struck out seven with no walks.

Smoltz beat Maddux and the Chicago Cubs, 4-0, on July 7, 1992. The former teammates took advantage of the matchup to have some fun. As Maddux strolled toward the plate for his first at-bat, Smoltz took off his cap and doffed his bald head toward the batter’s box -- a clear reference to Maddux saying a day earlier that he had more hair.

“I was trying to blind him at the plate with my head,” Smoltz quipped.

Said Maddux: “I loved it. I saw the ball better.”