It was a duel on the mound Saturday night at Dodgers Stadium as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Deigo Padres 1-0.  

Paul Maholm made the start for Los Angeles in place of the injured Josh Beckett, who was recently placed on the DL with a hip injury. Maholm pitched a shutout through his six innings, allowing only two hits to the Padres. Maholm struck out four batters and demonstrated spectacular control, walking none.  After pitching to one batter in the seventh inning, Maholm was relieved by Brandon League. League, JP Howell, and Kenley Jansen combined to keep the shutout intact.  Jansen picked up his first win of the season in the 1-0 win for the boys in blue.

It was a struggle for the Dodgers all night at the plate as they had just three hits going into the ninth inning.   Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier, and Juan Uribe, each with a hit, came up with a chance to win the game in the ninth. Gonzalez led the inning off with a long double and pulled into second base with ease. Matt Kemp followed with a strike out, and Ethier was intentionally walked to put the opportunity for a double play in action for San Diego. Uribe fought back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk and load the bases for AJ Ellis. Ellis put a 1-2 pitch into play with a deep fly ball, long enough to score Gonzalez from third for the walk off victory.

The Dodgers walk off win makes it their second game this season winning in walk off fashion. The Dodgers were 0-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven on base, but the four hits were enough for the win tonight. It didn’t matter tonight though; a win is a win and the Dodgers remain a half-game ahead of the Giants for first place in the NL West.

The Dodgers close out the series with the Padres in an afternoon contest with Hyun-Jin Ryu taking the mound. This will be the last game for the Dodgers before the All-Star break, resuming action Friday in St. Louis. 

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