Stauffer gets first win of season as Padres win

WASHINGTON – Tim Stauffer pitched seven innings for his first win of the season, Blake Tekotte had the first two hits of his major league career and the San Diego Padres beat the Washington Nationals 2-1 on Saturday in a matchup of baseball's weakest-hitting teams.

Stauffer (1-3) limited the Nationals to four hits and a run — a seventh-inning homer by Laynce Nix — to win for the first time in 11 starts. He struck out four and walked four.

Mike Adams, who threw one pitch on Friday night — Michael Morse's game-ending homer — pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Heath Bell worked the ninth for his 11th save.

San Diego had lost six of its previous seven.

The Padres, who came in with a .226 average — two points lower than the Nationals — scored three or fewer runs for the 11th straight game. The last time they did that was July 9-21, 1976.

Stauffer quickly found himself in trouble. With one out in the first, he walked three straight Nationals to load the bases. On his first pitch to Morse, Friday's hero grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The Nationals, who have lost of eight of 10, had just two singles through six innings until Nix's home run. It was his seventh.

The Padres scored twice in the fourth off Jordan Zimmermann (2-6). With one out, Chase Headley singled and scored on a triple by Tekotte that hit off right fielder Jayson Werth's glove. Playing in just his third major league game, Tekotte also doubled in the second inning and scored on Kyle Phillips' single. Phillips hit broke an 0-for-14 skid.

Zimmermann hasn't won in his last four starts, though he hasn't pitched badly. Last Sunday, he was sailing through six innings, allowing just one hit, but gave up a decisive two-run home run to Baltimore's Vladimir Guerrero in the second inning.

He gave up five hits, allowed two runs, walked one and struck out four.

NOTES: Nix's homer was just the fourth allowed by Stauffer in 11 starts. ... The Nationals recalled RHP Collin Balester from Triple-A Syracuse. He is expected to be sent down to make room for Sunday's starter, likely RHP Yunesky Maya, who would also be recalled from Syracuse. Maya would replace LHP Tom Gorzelanny, who was put on the DL with an inflamed left elbow. Gorzelanny said he expected to pitch when he's eligible. "It feels like a shin splint in my elbow," he said. ... The Padres had two players with their first big league hits. 2B Logan Forsythe singled in the ninth and nearly had his first RBI, but Headley was thrown out at the plate by Nix.