LOS ANGELES – By now, Dustin Moseley probably figured he had to pitch a shutout to win a game because of his lack of run support. He did — for seven innings — and was rewarded with one of the San Diego Padres' best offensive performances of the season.
Brad Hawpe doubled his RBI total for the season with a two-run single, and the Padres tacked on four more in the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-0 on Sunday and help Moseley record his first victory of 2011.
"I've been telling people and telling these guys all along that it's going to happen. It was just a matter of time. But I'm glad it happened today," Moseley said after the Padres put together consecutive victories for the first time since the first two games of the season.
"You understand how the game works and that everybody's trying their very best. The guys that we have in this clubhouse, there's nobody slacking or not going out there preparing to do their job. Everybody's working hard and trying to get better. So when you see that, there's no reason for you to be upset. And today, we came out and scored all these runs."
Moseley (1-3) gave up three hits and walked three. He struck out six and allowed just two runners as far as second base. He was winless in five April starts despite a 1.99 ERA, with his teammates getting shut out in each of his first three outings and totaling just four runs for him altogether — including a pair of no-decisions that went extra innings.
"It was big for us and big for him," Hawpe said. "He's a true professional, and he's going to pitch his tail off every game. We hadn't scored any runs for him, but he's been a pro about it. So to come out and score some runs for him today felt good."
Jon Garland (1-2) gave up three runs in five innings. He struck out eight and walked four — one more than his combined total in 20 innings over his three previous starts this season. The right-hander spent last season with the Padres, going 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA in 33 starts.
"Jon's a guy who always seems to find a way to keep himself in the game, and he's always been that kind of guy," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "If he's struggling with something, he'll just basically almost invent stuff and change what he's doing."
Moseley and Garland were teammates in 2008 with the Angels, which proved to be a valuable experience for the Padres right-hander.
"What I learned from him was that he doesn't worry about outside factors when he pitches," Moseley said. "He just goes about his business and makes pitches and tries to keep his team in the game. That's the biggest thing I learned from him. You're going to have good ones and you're going to have bad ones, so you just keep working. We throw somewhat similar — just pound the strike zone."
The Padres scored their first three runs in the second with an RBI single by Cameron Maybin and a two-run single by Hawpe with none out. That was the last hit by the Padres until the ninth, when they broke it open with an RBI single by pinch-hitter Jorge Cantu, a sacrifice fly by Jason Bartlett and a two-run double by Chase Headley against Mike MacDougal.
All four runs were charged to Hong-Chih Kuo, who was activated from the disabled list before the game.
Six of Hawpe's 12 hits this season have come against the Dodgers in 17 at-bats. He is 6 for 54 against everyone else. The seven-year veteran, who helped lead Colorado to an pennant in 2007 with 29 homers, 116 RBIs and a .291 average, has no homers and just four RBIs in 71 at-bats with the Padres after signing a one-year, $3 million contract in January as a free agent.
"The last two series I've felt really good at the plate, even when I didn't get hits," Hawpe said. "It's just a matter of grinding it out and turning it around."
Hawpe, an All-Star in 2009, has a .352 lifetime average against the Dodgers and a .362 mark at Chavez Ravine — the second-highest ever by a visiting player with at least 120 at-bats here behind Roberto Clemente's .377 mark.
"I don't know why. I've just always enjoyed playing here," Hawpe said. "I just like this ballpark. Obviously, I may like it here because I've had success."
Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 27 games when he led off the Dodgers' seventh with a single up the first base line and off the glove of Hawpe as he tried to backhand it behind the bag. It is the second-longest streak by a Dodger since the club relocated to Los Angeles in 1958, and is five shy of Willie Davis' franchise-record 31-game run in 1969.
Ethier had 40 hits in April, tying the franchise record for that month, which he shared with Mike Piazza and Rafael Furcal. The All-Star right fielder is trying to become the eighth player since the turn of the century with a hitting streak of at least 30 games during one season. That list includes Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Luis Castillo, Albert Pujols, Willy Taveras, Moises Alou and Ryan Zimmerman.
Notes: The Dodgers are scheduled to face Cubs starters James Russell, Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano in a series that begins Monday night at Chavez Ravine. Ethier is 0 for 1 lifetime against Russell, 7 for 19 with a home run against Dempster, and 7 for 16 against Zambrano. ... Ethier came in 3 for 3 lifetime against Moseley with a solo home run on April 9 at San Diego. ... The Padres won a series for only the second time this season, after taking two of three at St. Louis to open the schedule.
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