Lowe bounces back, grounds rival Giants

Still, manager Bruce Bochy knows his players better start hitting soon — and in key situations.

Jeff Kent hit a go-ahead two-run double in the fifth, Lowe bounced back from a bad outing on Opening Day and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak in San Francisco to seven games with a 4-1 victory Saturday.

Lowe followed Penny’s impressive performance Friday with another standout showing by a Dodgers starter, silencing the San Francisco bats again.

"We did a good job of changing speeds, and I probably pitched like I need to," Lowe said. "The defense was great."

Lowe (1-1) looked much better than he did Monday at Milwaukee, where he lasted only four innings and was tagged for six runs and eight hits with four strikeouts and five walks. This time, Lowe was efficient in seven strong innings, allowing the Giants four hits and one run. Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless eighth and Takashi Saito worked the ninth for his third save.

Wilson Valdez had three hits and Nomar Garciaparra added a sacrifice fly for the Dodgers, who haven’t lost in the Giants’ ballpark since Aug. 18.

San Francisco fell to 1-4 with one game remaining on its season-opening homestand and will look to avoid a three-game sweep by its archrivals today.

"The important thing now is we have to put some runs on the board and start clicking offensively," Bochy said. "This is two games in a row we’ve gotten one run."

Giants starter Russ Ortiz (0-1) lost his 12th straight decision and failed to earn his first win since Aug. 29, 2005, at San Diego while he was with Arizona. The right-hander, trying to make a comeback this year with his former club, owns the longest active losing skid in the majors.

Rich Aurilia doubled in a run for the Giants on a day slugger Barry Bonds, shortstop Omar Vizquel and catcher Bengie Molina got to rest.

• Braves 5, Mets 3 — At Atlanta, John Smoltz outpitched former teammate Tom Glavine to help Atlanta beat New York, handing the Mets their first loss.

It was the second time Smoltz had faced Glavine after 15 years as teammates and golf buddies. The Atlanta right-hander also won on July 15, 2005.

Smoltz (1-0) went six innings and allowed two runs and seven hits. Bob Wickman got Shawn Green to line out to first with runners on second and third to get his second save.

Glavine (1-1) pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up five runs — two earned — and four hits. He fell to 3-10 against the Braves since signing a free-agent contract with the Mets in 2003.

• Astros 5, Cardinals 1 — At Houston, Roy Oswalt pitched a five-hitter, and Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman homered to lift Houston over St. Louis.

Oswalt (1-0) struck out four and allowed one run for his 99th career win.

Lee, signed to a six-year, $100 million contract in the offseason, hit his first home run in the sixth inning on the first pitch by reliever Brad Thompson (Cimarron-Memorial High School).

• Marlins 8, Phillies 5 — At Miami, Dontrelle Willis pitched six innings for his second victory in two starts, and Josh Willingham drove in four runs with his first homer, a triple and a double to help Florida beat Philadelphia.

Willingham had hits in his first three at-bats and batted in the seventh needing a single to become the first player to hit for the cycle in the Marlins’ 15-year history. He struck out swinging.

Willis (2-0) allowed three runs — all on Jimmy Rollins’ inside-the-park homer — and struck out nine. He improved to 11-1 in April with an ERA of 2.40.

• Diamondbacks 7, Nationals 1 — At Washington, Brandon Webb struck out eight and scattered seven hits over seven innings as Arizona beat Washington.

The only run allowed by last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner came on an Austin Kearns homer that might have been foul. Kearns’ fly to left curled as it reached the foul pole and appeared to bounce off the dark green wall in foul territory. Third-base umpire Jerry Meals immediately ruled it a homer and the call stood after a discussion among the four umpires.

The Nationals (1-5) have been outscored 42-17.

• Reds 7, Pirates 5 — At Cincinnati, Adam Dunn’s wind-blown fly ball deflected off Xavier Nady’s glove and cleared the wall for a two-run homer, a second-inning play that set the tone for Cincinnati’s victory over Pittsburgh.

Nady drifted to the right-field wall on Dunn’s high fly and stretched to catch the ball about a foot in front of the wall. The ball landed in his glove, flew back out and cleared the wall.

Edwin Encarnacion had three hits, including a bases-loaded single that put the Reds ahead to stay. Aaron Harang (2-0) lasted 5 2/3 innings to get the victory.

• Padres 3, Rockies 2 — At San Diego, Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI double with one out in the ninth to lift San Diego and snap Colorado’s three-game winning streak.

Career saves leader Trevor Hoffman (1-0) pitched the ninth for his first victory since 2005.

The Padres got a solid season debut by 43-year-old David Wells, who allowed two runs and six singles in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one.

• Cubs 6, Brewers 3 — At Milwaukee, Carlos Zambrano allowed three runs in seven innings and hit an RBI single to help Chicago beat Milwaukee.

Zambrano (1-1) struck out four of the first six batters he faced and cruised through three perfect innings before allowing a solo homer to Rickie Weeks to lead off the fourth.