LOS ANGELES (AP) — Brad Brach couldn’t stop smiling, and that’s saying something when you’re playing for the last-place San Diego Padres, who have lost a season-high seven in a row.

Brach made his major league debut in the seventh inning of a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, with his personal highlight a strikeout of Matt Kemp.

The 25-year-old right-hander gave up two singles in 1 1-3 innings and struck out three of the seven batters he faced. He earlier had his contract selected from Triple-A Tucson.

“It was definitely one of those things I’ll never forget. I was trying not to concentrate on the batter and just throw my pitches,” Brach said. “It’s exciting looking back at it now. At the time, I was just worried about the next batter.”

He walked out of the bullpen feeling nervous in front of a sparse crowd at Dodger Stadium. When Brach reached the mound, second baseman Orlando Hudson came over with some encouraging words.

“He took all the pressure away and just made me concentrate on the hitter and forget about everything else that was going on around me,” he said.

Brach’s trip to the majors included stops in Peoria, Ariz., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Lake Elsinore, Calif., where he was the California League pitcher of the year in 2010.

“The journey was well worth it, that’s for sure,” he said.

Padres manager Bud Black was impressed with Brach’s stuff back in spring training.

“The fastball at times has a nice cut to it,” he said. “I’m sure it’s a nice feather in his cap to look back and know that the first guy that he struck out in the major leagues was Matt Kemp. That’s pretty nice.”

Kemp got his career-high 102nd RBI and Rod Barajas hit a two-run homer as the Dodgers completed a three-game series sweep. The Padres finished 1-7 on their eight-game trip.

Los Angeles starter Ted Lilly (9-13) allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings. He had a season-high four walks in his ninth career win over the Padres — his most against a single opponent.

Javy Guerra pitched the ninth to earn his 13th save in 14 chances.

Wade LeBlanc (2-4) gave up four runs and six hits in six innings for San Diego.

“I didn’t have a whole lot today, so when you get to that point, it’s just a matter of how close you can keep the game and give the guys a chance to win it,” he said. “Mechanically, I just felt really off. I felt like I was rushing.”

Kemp’s single to left in the first inning gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

LeBlanc tied it with a two-out RBI single in the second that was preceded by consecutive walks by Lilly.

The Padres’ other run came on Alberto Gonzalez’s RBI double in the sixth.

The Dodgers took the lead for good when Barajas hit a 3-1 pitch off the left-field foul pole in the bottom of the second. Barajas’ 15th homer drove in James Loney, who reached on a leadoff walk.

NOTES: Dodgers RF Andre Ethier, who came in hitting .533 on the homestand, singled as a pinch hitter in the eighth. … The Dodgers earned their fourth series sweep of the season and their second over the Padres. … The Padres claimed OF Jeremy Hermida off outright waivers from Cincinnati and designated C Kyle Phillips for assignment. Hermida is set to join the team in San Diego on Friday. … The Padres optioned OF Blake Tekotte to Double-A San Antonio and transferred RHP Dustin Moseley from the 15-day to the 60-day DL. Moseley had season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder Aug. 3. … The Dodgers placed RHP Matt Guerrier on paternity leave and recalled RHP Josh Lindblom from Double-A Chattanooga. Lindblom replaced Lilly and threw 16 pitches in the sixth inning.

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Contrary to popular belief, Arizona fans love their Diamondbacks. They might not sell out regularly, and sometimes their passion is displaced, such as when they booed Prince Fielder at the Home Run Derby (seriously, who boos at a slugging contest?), but since the 2001 World Series, the Grand Canyon State has loved its D-backs.

So we kind of hope the Padres fan who reached into the field of play to steal a fly ball from D-backs right fielder Justin Upton made it safely out of Chase Field on Saturday.

The fan, shown in the video below, then chided Upton by pointing at his Padres hat. The Arizona fans around him look at the fan incredulously, and the woman he’s with has an expression that says, “You might love your Friars, but promise me you’ll never try that in New York, L.A. or Philly.”

Upton seems to be speechless, but he came out on top. The Padres lost, as they usually do, and Upton is having an MVP caliber season. The Padres fan, meanwhile, probably had a long drive back to San Diego.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Heck, the Padres need all the help they can get.

Screengrab from MLB.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“These past two weeks have been quite painful for me. It is way too early to know all of the details .. but the allegations alone cause serious concerns.”
– University of Miami President Donna Shalala on the ongoing NCAA investigation into the Hurricanes football scandal

TWEET OF THE DAY

But … they couldn’t play baseball because the mean old Orioles took away their games! The O’s are such bullies with their $85 million payroll that’s less than half of the Yankees’.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Aww, how sweet. Hold on, is she going to throw up? Medic!

Brockport, N.Y. – Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres promoted Brockport High graduate Andy Parrino to its team.

The 2004 Brockport High alumnus is the first non-pitcher from the Rochester area to be on the roster for a Major League Baseball team in 65 years.

The Padres drafted Parrino in the 2007 draft. He played as an infielder with minor league teams in San Antonio and Tucson this season.

In a Facebook post, Parrino wrote “Thank you everyone who has believed in me and supported me along the way.”

Parrino will join the Padres when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday.

“I’d obviously like to get that home run back,” Stauffer said. “He hit a pretty good pitch. He went down and got it. The other run they manufactured but it was enough.”

Stauffer has career highs in starts (27), innings pitched (166) and strikeouts (114) in his first full season as a starter.

“I feel good now and I get all my work in,” he said. “I don’t look forward or behind, I just try to keep it simple.”

A former first-round draft pick, Stauffer has had to overcome injuries and moves to the bullpen and back into the starting rotation.

“It’s a tribute to his perseverance,” Padres’ manager Bud Black said. “He’s battled back from a lot of issues and his career got untracked for a while. Right now he’s solid as one of our guys at the top of the rotation.”

Beltran returned to the starting lineup and sent a changeup from Stauffer (8-10) over the wall in right field in the fourth for his 16th home run of the season. The solo shot was the first of his career at AT&T Park.

Tim Lincecum (12-10) struck out seven and walked five in eight innings, pitching out of the stretch again the entire game. He gave up three hits and also had the go-ahead RBI single.

“The dude is a two-time Cy Young Award winner,” Padres’ Orlando Hudson said. “He’s one of the elite pitchers in baseball. I can see him walk to the podium and grab a few more Cy Young’s. That’s the type of pitcher he is.”

Santiago Casilla pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season.

After Cameron Maybin singled to start the sixth for the Padres, Beltran again found himself at the center of another big play. He dove for a ball near the right corner and missed, allowing Orlando Hudson to slide in for a triple and San Diego to slice the deficit to 2-1.

The Padres never could mount anything offensively.

The Giants avoided having to face closer Heath Bell, who they claimed off waivers. San Diego has 48 hours from the time Bell was claimed to decide whether to work out a trade with San Francisco, allow him to be claimed or pull him back from waivers.

NOTES: Home run king Barry Bonds was sitting with his son in box seats near the Giants dugout. … U.S. women’s soccer team members Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe were in attendance. Both were wearing Panda hats, which Giants fans often wear in support of 3B Pablo Sandoval. … The Padres optioned RHP Pat Neshek to Triple-A Tucson. … RHP Ryan Vogelsong (10-3, 2.47 ERA) starts for the Giants against Houston’s RHP Henry Sosa (0-2, 6.35 ERA) in the opener of a four-game series Thursday. … San Diego announced that IF James Darnell will be optioned to Triple-A Tucson, with a corresponding move to come before Friday’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

“The big joke in the clubhouse is, ‘You’re still here?’ ” Bell said, chuckling. “I said I couldn’t find the Giants clubhouse.”

While his name circulated on flat-screen televisions in both clubhouses, Bell and seemingly everybody else in the ballpark remained skeptical about whether he will actually end up with the defending World Series champions.

San Diego has 48 hours from the time Bell was claimed to decide whether to work out a trade for the three-time All-Star, allow him to be claimed or pull him back from waivers. The Giants already have one of baseball’s best bullpens – albeit banged up at the moment – and it would seem unlikely that general manager Brian Sabean would give up anything of value in a trade.

The move could be just to block NL West-leading Arizona – under first-year general manager and former Padres GM Kevin Towers – or other contenders from landing Bell. San Francisco began the day two games back of the Diamondbacks.

Asked if Bell, 33, would still be with the club after the deadline, Padres manager Bud Black said he would be “extremely shocked” if his closer wasn’t.

But San Francisco’s stellar bullpen is certainly fractured.

There is no timetable for when Brian Wilson will test his inflamed right elbow, although there’s a chance he could return in early September. Wilson has declined to discuss his injury.

The Giants are more confident that setup man Sergio Romo, also on the DL with an elbow injury, will be back soon. Manager Bruce Bochy said he hadn’t talked to Sabean yet and wouldn’t speculate about the team’s plans.

In yesterday’s games: * 

At Pittsburgh, Aaron Thompson pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his big-league debut, Jason Grilli followed with 2 2/3 shutout innings, winning his first game in nearly 2 years, and four Pirates pitchers combined on a five-hitter in a 2-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

* At St. Louis, Juan Rivera homered and knocked in three runs and the Los Angeles Dodgers scored an early knockout of the Cardinals for the second straight day, completing their first road sweep of the season with a 9-4 win.

* At Denver, Troy Tulowitzki scored from third on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros, 7-6, to complete a three-game sweep.

* At Miami, Joey Votto homered in each game of a doubleheader, and Bronson Arroyo (8-10) pitched eight scoreless innings in the nightcap, leading Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 victory for a split of the twinbill.

Logan Morrison returned from his demotion to Triple A New Orleans by homering in the Marlins’ 6-5 victory in the opener.

* At Washington, Daniel Hudson fell one out short of his first career shutout, and the Diamondbacks topped the Nationals, 4-2. Hudson (13-9) had the Nationals blanked through 8 2/3 innings before giving up back-to-back homers to Laynce Nix and Jonny Gomes.

* At Chicago, Alfonso Soriano homered, Randy Wells pitched effectively into the seventh and the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2. Wells (5-4) held the Braves to one run and two hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out six.

* At San Francisco, Carlos Beltran homered and scored on a single by Tim Lincecum (12-10), who struck out seven over eight innings, as the Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1.