Padres 4, Braves 0
ATLANTA -- San Diego Padres rookie Burch Smith pitched no-hit ball for five innings and wound up with his first big-league win with a 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
Smith (1-1) pitched seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits and struck out 10. The right-hander retired the first 11 batters faced and did not allow a hit until Julio Teheran singled to lead off the sixth inning.
Nick Vincent pitched the eighth and Huston Street pitched the ninth to finish the shutout. It was the 14th time the Braves have been blanked this season, the first since Sept. 1 by Miami.
The win gave San Diego two wins in the three game series at Turner Field. The Padres beat the Braves in five of their six meetings this year. Atlanta's magic number to win the National League East remained at four.
Smith outdueled fellow rookie Teheran (12-8), who gave up four runs and seven hits over 6 2/3 innings and saw his two-game winning streak broken.
Smith now has 28 strikeouts over 19.1 innings in his five starts. It was his first double-digit strikeout game, exceeding the eight he posted on May 17 against Washington.
San Diego broke a scoreless tie by scoring three runs in the sixth inning. With one out, Will Venable singled, ending a streak of 14 consecutive batters retired by Teheran, and stole second. He scored on Jedd Gyorko's sharp two-out single to left field. Chase Headley then followed with a long two-run homer to right, his 13th, and his third homer in as many days.
The Padres tacked on another run in the seventh on a towering homer by rookie Tommy Medica, his second, to take a 4-0 lead.
Atlanta had two scoring chances against Smith, but failed to deliver. Freddie Freeman walked and reached second on an error, but stayed there when Evan Gattis struck out. The Braves got runners on the corners with one out in the sixth, but Freeman popped to shallow center and Gattis struck out.
The Braves threatened in the ninth against Street. Freeman doubled to lead off the inning, but Street retired the next three batters and struck out Andrelton Simmons to end the game.
NOTES: The Braves start a six-game seven-day road trip, their last of the season that will take them to Washington and Chicago. The Padres move to Pittsburgh for a four-game series that will conclude a 10-day East Coast road trip. ... Injured Braves Jason Heyward and Tim Hudson will accompany the team on its trip. Heyward (broken jaw) is taking batting practice and hopes to rejoin the team by the playoffs. Hudson (broken ankle) simply wanted to be a part of the trip, as he won't begin his rehab until having a screw removed from his ankle in late October.
