Veteran right-hander perfect through five, wins No. 336By Sandy Burgin / Special to MLB.com
SAN DIEGO -- Greg Maddux, who has never thrown a no-hitter, had a perfect game through five innings Monday night.
Javier Valentin doubled to right-center in the top of the sixth spoiling the no-no, but Maddux and the Padres went on to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1, at PETCO Park.
The win was the 336th for Maddux, who allowed five hits in posting his 109th complete game, his first since Sept. 27, 2005.
Maddux (3-2) also helped his own cause at the plate with three straight sacrifice bunts, tying a franchise record.
Maddux threw 46 pitches in retiring the first 15 Reds. He got Alex Gonzalez on a groundout to start the sixth. But Valentin ripped a double to the scoreboard in right-center for the Reds' first hit. Pinch-hitter Jeff Keppinger followed with a single. However, Maddux came back and got Ryan Freel to hit into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
Maddux lost a chance for his 36th shutout in the ninth. Juan Castro led off with a single and moved to third on a double by Freel. One out later, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a deep fly to center for a sacrifice fly as Castro came home. Maddux threw 96 pitches, 20 in the ninth inning. He finished the game striking out Brandon Phillips for his 3,200th career strikeout.
yes, but big game, who would you rather have pitching?
ReplyDeleteMaddux
Smoltz
Glavine?
The Professor, of course. He's impervious to pressure. But, since Maddux relies so heavily on ground outs, I would want to have a really, really good infield behind him. (BTW, I'm a Cub fan, not a Braves fan, so I'll always go with Greg. He's like Lou Brock, the one that got away.)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading todays post, I realize your a cubs fan now, but I don't think I could have come up with 2 other Cubs pitchers to compare Maddux too.
ReplyDelete