Shields sets several Padres marks starting 6-0

Bill Center, longtime sportswriter for U-T San Diego, is an employee of the Padres.

James Shields became only the second pitcher in franchise history to start a season with a 6-0 record Sunday.

Right-hander Andy Hawkins started the 1985 season with an 11-0 record in his first 12 starts. Four other Padres pitchers were 5-0 -- Tim Lollar (1982), Dennis Rasmussen ('88), Jake Peavy (2005) and Justin Germano ('07).

While Shields still has five more wins to catch Hawkins, he did set one Padres record Sunday during the Padres' 11-3 win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Shields had seven strikeouts to raise his season total to 82. That is the Padres' record for strikeouts in the first 10 starts of a season, surpassing the total of 79 Peavy had in his first 10 starts in 2009. Peavy is also third on the list with 77 strikeouts in his first 10 starts in '07.

Shields also has at least five strikeouts in each of his first 10 starts -- also the longest run in Padres' history to start a season. Jesse Hahn had at least five strikeouts in each of his first seven starts last season.

Shields leads the National League in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (11.8).

The Padres are 7-3 in Shields' 10 starts.

In games started by Shields, the Padres have scored 59 runs -- or 5.9 per game. The Padres have scored only 18 runs in Andrew Cashner's nine starts and 39 in Tyson Ross's nine starts.

From the scorebook

• Left fielder Justin Upton's six-RBI game Sunday at Dodger Stadium was the third of his career -- and his first since July 23, 2011. It was the 33rd six-RBI game in Padres history and the first since Jedd Gyorko had six on May 9, 2014. The last time a Padres player had more than six RBIs in a game was May 17, 2006, when Brian Giles had seven at Arizona. The Padres' record for RBIs in a game is eight, shared by first baseman Nate Colbert on Aug. 1, 1972 (as part of his historic five-homer, 13-RBI doubleheader), and third baseman Ken Caminiti on Sept. 19, 1995, against Colorado.

• Upton is tied for second in the NL with 12 homers and ranks fourth with 35 RBIs. He is on pace for 43 homers and 126 RBIs. Those would be the second-highest home run total and tied for the second-highest RBI total, respectively, in franchise history.

• Outfielder Will Venable was 4-for-5 Sunday and is 17-for-40 (.425) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, four RBIs and eight runs in his last 11 starts since May 9. He has raised his average to .294 during the spurt.

• Right fielder Matt Kemp's two-hit game Sunday was his first multihit game since May 17 and ended a 1-for-18 drought with seven strikeouts.