Greg Maddux can put part of the blame on himself for his rough return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Making his first start since being acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres this week, Maddux was definitely not the best starting pitcher in an 8-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
That distinction went to Kyle Kendrick, who allowed one run and three hits in 5 2-3 innings as the Phillies snapped a six-game losing streak to Los Angeles.
Kendrick had a 40-minute meeting with Maddux in San Diego last week, a pitching seminar set up by teammate Jamie Moyer.
“It was exciting,” Kendrick (11-7) said of the meeting. “He had advice for how he deals with struggles and the mental side. It was nice the way he put things. I told him I can be afraid of contact, and he said, ‘I’m afraid of contact, too.”’
Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Chris Coste all homered off Maddux, who allowed seven runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings and remained at 353 wins, one shy of tying Roger Clemens for eighth on the career list.
“They weren’t going after bad pitches and were hitting strikes. This is a good lineup,” Maddux (6-10) said. “I couldn’t keep the ball in the park. You have to keep the ball in the ballpark no matter where you pitch. When you give up five runs on two swings, it’s hard to win like that.”
In other NL games on Friday, it was: Florida 5, Arizona 4; New York 3, Houston 0; Washington 13, Chicago 5; St. Louis 18, Atlanta 3; Milwaukee 10, Pittsburgh 4; Cincinnati 8, Colorado 3; and San Francisco 5, San Diego 0.
Howard hit his 34th home run to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the fourth. He entered the at-bat 3-for-36 with 18 strikeouts and one homer in his past 14 games.
“It was a two-seamer that ran down and away and I just went with it and was able to get good wood on it,” Howard said.
“Actually it wasn’t a bad pitch,” Maddux said, “he’s just so gosh darn strong.”
The Phillies scored four runs in the sixth when they knocked out Maddux. Coste capped the scoring with a three-run homer as the Phillies scored their most runs this month.
Kendrick, who rebounded from two poor outings, gave up a first-inning homer to Andre Ethier.
“I knew what was going on – I was falling behind in counts and not being aggressive,” Kendrick said. “Tonight, I came out attacked the strike zone and got ahead.”
Marlins 5, Diamondbacks 4
Wes Helms tied the game in the eighth with a sacrifice fly and Cody Ross hit the next pitch from Jon Rauch (0-2) for a home run.
The loss spoiled a 13-strikeout performance by Arizona’s Randy Johnson, who pitched seven strong innings but was denied career victory No. 295. The Diamondbacks maintained a two-game lead over Los Angeles in the NL West.
Arthur Rhodes (1-0) got two outs in the seventh for the win, his first in the NL after a July 31 trade from Seattle. Kevin Gregg pitched a perfect ninth for his 28th save.
Mets 3, Astros 0
Johan Santana allowed eight hits in seven innings and Brian Schneider hit a two-run homer for New York, which has won 10 of 11. David Wright gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single.
Santana (12-7) won his third straight start and fifth straight decision. Aaron Heilman and Luis Ayala completed the shutout with one inning each and Ayala, acquired on Sunday from Washington, earned his first save.
Roy Oswalt (11-9) gave up four hits and three runs in the first two innings then settled down to retire 20 in a row.
Nationals 13, Cubs 5
Willie Harris hit his first career grand slam and a two-run homer as the Nationals won their second straight after a 12-game losing streak.
Harris hit his slam off reliever Neal Cotts (0-2) to cap a six-run sixth that put the Nationals ahead 6-4. He added a two-run shot in the ninth off Chad Gaudin for his first multihomer game in the majors.
John Lannan (7-12) allowed seven hits and five runs in 6 1-3 innings to beat the Cubs for the second time this season.
Washington’s Ronnie Belliard had four hits, including his 11th homer, and pinch-hitter Aaron Boone hit a three-run double.
Cardinal 18, Braves 3
Adam Wainwright worked six innings in his first start since early June, and Albert Pujols had three hits and three RBIs to lead St. Louis, which set season bests for runs and hits (26).
Wainwright (7-3), who had been out with a sprained middle finger on his right hand, had a career-high three hits and an RBI. He allowed five hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
The Cardinals’ first five hitters were a combined 10-for-12 with seven walks and a sacrifice fly the first four times through the order. The Cardinals pummeled rookie Charlie Morton (3-8) and two relievers for a 12-1 lead after five innings.
Brewers 10, Pirates 4
Mike Cameron homered to cap a six-run seventh and Dave Bush (8-9) allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings. J.J. Hardy hit his 20th homer for Milwaukee, which leads the wild-card standings.
The Brewers scored at least 10 runs in a game for the eighth time this season.
Pirates starter Zach Duke (4-12) hasn’t won since June 9, losing a career-high eight straight decisions over 11 starts.
Reds 8, Rockies 5
Aaron Harang pitched out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs to get his first win in more than two months. Harang (4-13) allowed six hits over six innings to get his first win since beating Boston on June 13. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 25th save.
Jeff Keppinger and Joey Votto both had three hits for the Reds, while Brandon Phillips had two, including a two-run homer in the first.
Ian Stewart had a career-high four hits for the Rockies, who have lost eight of their past 11 home games.
Giants 5, Padres 0
Tim Lincecum (14-3) allowed four hits over eight innings and struck out eight to increase his major league-leading total to 200. Lincecum gave up four hits. He became the ninth pitcher in franchise history to reach 200 strikeouts in a season and the first since Jason Schmidt had 251 in 2004.
Bengie Molina had two hits and two RBIs for the Giants, who won their third straight and sixth of seven.
Cha Seung Baek (4-8) had a career-high eight strikeouts, but lost on the road for the first time this year.
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