Uggla Homers Again, Maholm Leads Braves To 6-1 Win Over Padres

For the first time in five starts, Paul Maholm finally notched a win against the San Diego Padres, holding them to a single run over seven innings of a 6-1 win.

True to form, Maholm induced a lot of groundouts: eight of the first nine outs he recorded were on the ground. In a scoreless third inning, San Diego's Logan Forsythe launched a fly ball down the left field line that just did stay fair, hitting the screen of the foul pole for a home run. This came right after Atlanta had squandered a second-and-third, no-out scoring opportunity in the second against Edinson Volquez.

In the bottom of the third, a similar situation presented itself: Jason Heyward ripped a one-out double to put him and Martin Prado in scoring position, but a fielder's choice out in which Prado was caught in a rundown left any hope of scoring on Dan Uggla. Fortunately, Uggla delivered, crushing a three-run homer to left to give Atlanta the lead.

Maholm worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, then the offense went right back to work in the bottom of the inning. Paul Janish was hit by a pitch with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch. On a ground ball by Maholm, first baseman Yonder Alonso opted to throw out Janish at third but was unsuccessful; that led to Michael Bourn's RBI groundout. Prado singled, then Heyward smacked a two-run double to right, signaling the end of a short day for Volquez.

Maholm took care of the rest on the mound, striking out seven in seven innings and inducing 13 groundouts; he allowed just five hits. Chad Durbin and Cory Gearrin preserved the win in relief.