Padres End Trip With A 3-4 Mark and Loss

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Tim Hudson and Kelly Johnson helped the Atlanta Braves find themselves in familiar territory sole possession of first place. Hudson hurled six solid innings and Johnson drove in three runs with a bases-clearing double in the sixth to power the Braves to a 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Johnson came up huge in another two-out rally in the sixth for Atlanta, which has scored 88 of its 168 runs with two away this season. With one out, Brian McCann singled and Chris Woodward followed with a double off starter David Wells (1-2). The portly lefthander struck out Craig Wilson before issuing a free pass to pinch hitter Willie Harris to load the bases. That set the stage for the 25-year-old Johnson, who smashed an 0-1 offering into the right field corner for a double to give Atlanta a 5-2 edge.

Once again, the bullpen closed the door. Chad Paronto surrendered a run on two hits in the seventh and Tyler Yates struck out one in a perfect eighth before Soriano notched his fifth save with a hitless ninth.

The Padres tied it in the fourth on a run-scoring doubles by Mike Cameron and rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff. Jose Cruz Jr. drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh for the Padres, who went 3-4 on their road trip. San Diego returns home to play the defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in a three-game set beginning Friday.

LOGO: Padres/MLB