San Diego Padres vs. Atlanta Braves – Box Score – August 15, 2012 – ESPN.

Another strong start for Paul Maholm, who among other things is working deep into games, taking pressure off the bullpen. In each of his three starts, Maholm has gone at least seven innings. He’s now 2-1 with a 1.56 ERA as a Brave.

Today the action was mostly concentrated in the third and fourth innings, when all the runs were scored. The Padres took the early lead with a solo homer in the third. The Braves, meanwhile, had blown chances in each of the first two innings. Michael Bourn led off the game with a single, only for Martin Prado to ground into a double play in front of Jason Heyward‘s walk. And in the second, Dan Uggla led off with a walk followed by Juan Francisco‘s double, but Uggla was thrown out at home trying to score on a Brian McCann groundout, and Paul Janish popped out.

In the third, it looked like they might blow another chance. Prado singled and Heyward doubled with one out, but Freddie Freeman grounded out to the pitcher, Prado thrown out at home. But this time, Uggla hit a three-run homer to make it 3-1. That was all the Braves would need, but they would get more in the fourth. Janish was hit by a pitch, went to second on a wild pitch, and third on a fielder’s choice, scoring on a Bourn groundout. Prado reached on an infield single, then Heyward’s second double of the night scored two, making it 6-1.

Maholm went seven, allowing five hits and three walks, striking out seven. Thirteen of the fourteen outs in play he recorded were on ground balls. Chad Durbin allowed a hit and a walk in the eighth, while Cory Gearrin got three ground balls of his own in the ninth.