Billingsley beats Padres; Dodgers are 10-0 at home

[May 04, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chad Billingsley completed seven innings for the third straight start, Orlando Hudson drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-3 on Sunday to set a franchise record for the best home winning streak to begin a season.

The 10-0 start at Chavez Ravine eclipsed the mark set at Ebbets Field by the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers, when current manager Joe Torre was 5 years old and growing up in the borough.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this streak is the longest by any NL team since 1983, when Torre's Atlanta Braves won their first 10 games at Fulton County Stadium to tie the modern league record shared by the 1918 New York Giants and 1970 Chicago Cubs.

Billingsley (5-0) allowed two runs and four hits, struck out eight and walked four. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth by striking out Nick Hundley on three pitches, and hit an RBI single during the Dodgers' four-run sixth.

The 24-year-old right-hander, pummeled in both of his losses during the NLCS against Philadelphia last year, is 9-0 with a 2.67 ERA in 11 regular-season starts since losing to the Phillies on Aug. 25. He led the club with 16 victories last season, going 7-1 in his final 12 outings.

The Dodgers are a major league-best 18-8 overall, their best start since 1984.

The defending NL West champions completed their first four-game sweep of the Padres at home while resting four regulars: catcher Russell Martin, shortstop Rafael Furcal, third baseman Casey Blake and right fielder Manny Ramirez, who had some tightness in his hamstring but was available for pinch-hitting duty.

Los Angeles wasted no time getting to Chad Gaudin (0-1) and scored three runs in the first inning against the right-hander in his second start with the Padres.

Torre's lineup was front-loaded with four left-handed batters, including the switch-hitting Hudson, who doubled home the first run. Andre Ethier followed with another RBI double and scored on James Loney's single.

The Padres, 4 for 29 with runners in scoring position during the series, got on the board in the second with an RBI double by Edgar Gonzalez. Brian Giles and Jody Gerut homered for San Diego.

Gaudin was charged with six runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. He was pulled after giving up three two-out singles, including an opposite-field, run-scoring hit by Billingsley. Juan Pierre greeted Arturo Lopez with an RBI single and Hudson followed with a two-run double for a 7-1 lead.

Notes: The Dodgers' unbeaten start at home is the longest in the majors since 2003, when the Royals won their first 11 at Kauffman Stadium. The common thread is bench coach Bob Schaefer, who served that same role for manager Tony Pena in Kansas City. ... The 1946 Dodgers went 56-21 at home. That team finished its schedule 96-58 and tied for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the Bums in baseball's first intraleague playoff to win the NL pennant before topping Boston in the World Series. ... San Diego has lost nine of its last 10 at Dodger Stadium, where the home club is 33-9 since last year's All-Star break.

[Associated Press]

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