Brown, Padres Shutdown Phillies

Kevin Brown put on quite a show.

The San Diego right-hander pitched a five-hitter and tied the club record by winning his 11th straight decision as the Padres handed Philadelphia its seventh straight loss, 4-0 Wednesday night.

It was the fourth complete game and second shutout this season for Brown (14-3), who struck out a career-high 11 and walked one.

Brown also doubled, scored and made three nice defensive plays, helping send Curt Schilling (10-11) to his second loss to NL West-leading San Diego this season.

Winning his 11th straight decision "means a lot of things," Brown said. "It means that the team's playing well, too. To have that kind of streak put together, you've got to have a lot of things happen behind you. You've got to have some runs being scored and the defense making plays."

Brown's winning streak is the longest in the majors this year. Atlanta's Greg Maddux won 10 straight decisions from May 1 to July 2. Brown tied the club record of 11 straight wins set by Andy Hawkins and LaMarr Hoyt in 1985.

"You're talking about one of the best pitchers in the game," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had all his pitches going and had great command. He's got a great arm on him, and when he's throwing as hard as he does, with his split-finger and slider, that's a pretty nice arsenal to have."

The Padres beat the Phillies for the fifth straight time this year, all in San Diego, and climbed to 34 games over .500 (74-40) for the first time in franchise history.

Brown's double opened the three-run fifh that gave San Diego a 4-0 lead. He advanced on Quilvio Veras' single and scored on Steve Finley's base hit. Tony Gwynn drove in a run on a fielder's choice and Wally Joyner had an RBI single.

Gwynn, who raised his average to .325 after seeing it dip to .304 on July 23, left the game with a mild strain of his left Achilles' tendon after reaching in the fifth. He's listed as day-to-day.

Brown preserved the shutout by striking out Schilling and Doug Glanville with the bases loaded in the fifth and the Padres holding a 1-0 lead.

"Getting out of that was key, no doubt about it," Brown said.

"He was very good," Phillies manager Terry Francona said of Brown. "He worked quickly and kept the ball down. He threw a hard ball moving and he had a nasty slider. That's why he's 14-3."

Brown gloved Gregg Jefferies' sharp one-hopper in the first, then barehanded Bobby Estallela's high chopper while backing off the mound in the third and barehanded Mark Lewis' grounder in the seventh.

Wally Joyner scored from first on Carlos Hernandez's double to right in the second.

Phillies right fielder Bobby Abreu had two assists, including a one-hop throw to the plate that cut down Veras trying to score from second on Gwynn's single in the first.

Schilling allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings, struck out seven and walked four.

"I'd like to find an excuse, but there is none," Schilling said. "Every time I need to make a pitch, I'm not making it. This has been going on for a while."

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