LOS ANGELES -- A.J. Ellis hasnt had many opportunities to drive in important runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season because of his two stints on the disabled list. But Ellis was in the batters box at the right time Saturday night. His bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the ninth inning lifted the Dodgers 1-0 victory over the San Diego Padres and increased his RBI total to seven. "Its great to be in those situations. Its something you always want to be a part of," Ellis said. "After the eighth inning, I looked up at the scoreboard. I saw where I was hitting and I said, You know, theres a chance something could happen in the ninth. "And I got in a position to be the guy who drives in the big run." Adrian Gonzalez greeted Kevin Quackenbush (1-2) with a leadoff double before Matt Kemp struck out and Andre Ethier was intentionally walked. Juan Uribe then worked out a seven-pitch walk that included two checked swings that were upheld on appeal by first base umpire Jim Wolf. Ellis then lifted a 1-2 pitch to right field after Padres manager Bud Black then employed a drawn-in five-man infield. "You cant even look at them," Ellis said. "One of the worst things you can do as a hitter is try to direct the ball. You just hit it where its pitched. In that situation, Im looking to get a ball in the outfield, anyway, so the infield is the least of my concerns. Im just looking for something up that I could hit to centre or right, and I was really happy to find a pitch up there." Kenley Jansen (1-3) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory, striking out cleanup hitter Yasmani Grandal with runners at first and second. The Dodgers win, coupled with San Franciscos loss, put the Dodgers back in front of the Giants by a full game in the NL West. Left-hander Paul Maholm, coming out of the bullpen to make a spot start for the injured Josh Beckett, threw 64 pitches through the first six innings -- using just nine in the first, third, fourth and sixth. "Unfortunately for Josh, he had to miss a start and go on the DL, so I had to step in," Maholm said. "Ive made it known to the front office that I want to start, and thats my gig. But I signed up for this. So whenever the call, they call -- whether its one hitter or a couple of innings, I just want to pitch." It was Maholms 250th career start, his eighth this season and first since May 14 against the Marlins, when he was charged with 10 runs -- five earned -- over 3 2-3 innings in a 13-3 loss at Dodger Stadium. The Padres only hits off him were singles in the fourth and seventh by Chase Headley, whose solo homer in Thursdays series opener ended Clayton Kershaws string of 41 consecutive scoreless innings. Maholm, who came in 1-6 with a 4.27 ERA in his eight previous career starts against San Diego, was lifted by manager Don Mattingly after Headleys leadoff hit. Brandon League finished the seventh after retiring Carlos Quentin on a double-play grounder to third with his second pitch. Ian Kennedy held the Dodgers to three hits over eight innings and struck out eight, after back-to-back victories over Cincinnati and Colorado. This was the third straight start in which he pitched at least six innings while allowing fewer than two earned runs, and the ninth overall under those circumstances. St. Louis Adam Wainwright leads the NL with 12 such outings. "Thats a really good lineup, but youve just got to navigate through it and execute pitches," Kennedy said. "Later on in the game, my curveball was better, sharper. It wasnt very good in the bullpen and I was bouncing it. But my fastball location was keeping me ahead of guys." Dodgers All-Star right fielder Yasiel Puig was ejected by umpire David Rackley after he took a called third strike to end the third inning. His only other ejection in the majors was on June 11, 2013 -- his ninth big league game -- after a bench-clearing incident that also involved Kennedy. NOTES: By virtue of Puigs ejection, Ethier and Kemp found themselves at the same positions they had for most of their careers before Puig came along. Ethier moved from centre to right, Kemp from left to centre, and Carl Crawford went in to play left. ... The Padres are taking advantage of the four-day All-Star break by optioning RHP Jesse Hahn (5-2, 2.21 ERA) to Triple-A El Paso after he pitched six innings of three-hit ball Friday night in his seventh big league start and beat the Dodgers 6-3. Manager Bud Black said the club will continue to keep a close eye on Hahns innings the rest of the season. ... INF Jace Peterson was recalled by the Padres to fill in for injured 1B Tommy Medica, who was removed from Thursdays game because of tightness in his groin and remains on the active roster. ... Kershaw shaved off his scraggly beard for Sunday nights trip to Minnesota and his fourth career All-Star game. Francisco Cervelli Braves Jersey . 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There, I saw a teenaged boy with tears in his eyes, being consoled by strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee.PRATTVILLE, Ala. - South Koreas Mi Jung Hur birdied four of the last eight holes Saturday for a 5-under 67 and a share of the lead with Paula Reto in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.Beginning of the round my putting wasnt that good, Hur said. But after turned the nine holes, my putting gets better and better, so I had a low score.Reto, the second-round leader, birdied three of the final five holes for a 70 to match Hur at 15-under 201 on Capitol Hills links-style Senator layout.I didnt start too well, said Reto, a former Purdue player from South Africa. I had a couple bogeys and a double there, but I kept patient and just focused on one shot at a time and it kind of helped me out toward the end of the round.Hur won her lone LPGA Tour title in 2009, and Reto is winless in her rookie season.Top-ranked Stacy Lewis and Kris Tamulis were tied for third at 11 under. Lewis, the 2012 winner in the event dropped from the schedule last year after losing its title sponsor, had a 70.For the way I played, the score ended up pretty good, said Lewis, the tour leader with three victories this year. I didnt play well. It was kind of a struggle all day and just had to work pretty hard to shoot what I did. But Im stilll within striking distance, still have a chance for tomorrow, which that was the goal going into the week.ddddddddddddTamulis shot 65, the best round of the day.I wasnt really trying to chase anybody, Tamulis said. Didnt have a great middle of my round yesterday, so I was just going out there. I had some really good numbers today and was able to just kind of go for it.Reto rebounded from her double bogey on the par-3 seventh with birdies on the next two holes.I wasnt kind of where I wanted to be with my mental and stuff, said Reto, who started playing golf at 16 in 2005 when she moved to Florida with her family So, I just took a couple seconds to myself just to rethink everything, just kind of stayed in there.They will play in the same group again Sunday.Im just going to focus on each shot and I will do my best for tomorrow, Hur said. Play with Paula will be fun, not much pressure. I mean, she made me so comfortable.Reto is in position to win after missing 11 cuts in 18 starts this year.It would be really cool. That would put the cherry on the cake, said Reto, coming off a ninth-place tie in Portland, Oregon. But Im not going to think about it. Im just going to have fun and stuff. ' ' '