Garland pitches Padres to 3rd shutout in 4 games

[May 03, 2010]  SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The San Diego Padres shut out the Milwaukee Brewers for the third time in four games on Sunday, winning 8-0 on a combined three-hitter by Jon Garland and two relievers.

It was the first time the Padres had three shutouts in a series of any length in their 42-year history.

Scott Hairston and Kyle Blanks hit consecutive homers in the fifth for the NL West leaders, who outscored the Brewers 21-2 in taking three of four. San Diego won the first two games 9-0 and 3-0 before losing 2-1 on Saturday night. The Padres lead the majors with six shutouts. They had nine last season.

Garland (3-2) won his third straight start by holding the Brewers to three singles in seven innings, with five walks and three strikeouts. Mike Adams threw a perfect eighth and Sean Gallagher walked the bases full with two outs in the ninth before getting Rickie Weeks to fly out.

San Diego won for the 13th time in 16 games. The Brewers, who came into the series leading the NL in scoring, went hitless after the second inning and lost for the eighth time in 10 games.

Scott Hairston had two RBIs and older brother Jerry Jr. had one

Lance Zawadzki singled during his first big-league at-bat, six years after getting the first hit in Petco Park history.

Zawadzki was a freshman playing for Tony Gwynn at San Diego State when the Aztecs beat Houston 4-0 in the first game at Petco Park on March 11, 2004, before an NCAA-record crowd of 41,106. He doubled off the right-field wall for the first hit at the downtown ballpark.

The Padres promoted Zawadzki from Triple-A Portland on Friday after shortstop Everth Cabrera was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. He made his big-league debut Sunday, starting at second base.

Zawadzki singled to right off Randy Wolf (2-2) leading off the third, advanced on Garland's sacrifice and scored San Diego's first run on a triple to left by Tony Gwynn Jr., another former Aztecs player. Left fielder Ryan Braun made a diving attempt at Gwynn's fly ball and missed, with the ball rolling to the wall. Gwynn scored on Scott Hairston's single to center.

Scott Hairston homered off the railing on the fourth-floor balcony on the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner with one out in the fifth, his fourth. Two pitches later, Blanks homered into the first row of seats in left field, his third, to make it 4-0.

It was the second time the Padres hit consecutive homers this year. The other was on April 5 at Arizona by Adrian Gonzalez and Blanks.

Will Venable hit an RBI single in the seventh. Jerry Hairston Jr. and Yorvit Torrealba had RBI singles during a three-run rally in the eighth, which was aided by two Brewers errors.

Wolf allowed four runs and six hits in five innings, struck out five and walked six.

NOTES: Blanks started at 1B for Gonzalez, who had started the season's first 24 games. Gonzalez came in during a double switch in the eighth. ... Scott Hairston had two stolen bases, his first career multisteal game. ... The Padres stole four bases, giving them 29 in 35 attempts this season.

[Associated Press; By BERNIE WILSON]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.