Ricky and the Babe Henderson breaks Ruth's walk record

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Rickey Henderson got his walks record and a dirty uniform in another loss for the San Diego Padres.

Henderson set the major league walks record at 2,063 Wednesday night, taking sole possession of the mark he shared for a day with Babe Ruth.

It didn't do San Diego any good, though. The Padres lost 5-3 to Philadelphia, their third straight loss and their ninth in 10 games.

"The record is outstanding," a subdued Henderson said. "It's great to be in a class with Babe Ruth and all that good stuff, but I'm the type of person that wants to win."

Henderson walked on a 3-1 pitch from closer Jose Mesa leading off the ninth. He tossed his bat aside and jogged to first, shook hands with base coach Alan Trammell, tipped his batting helmet and acknowledged the standing ovation from what remained of the crowd of 12,573 by blowing kisses.

"I still feel great about breaking this record by one of the greatest ballplayers who ever played this game," Henderson said. "He was Mr. Baseball. He was the one who gave me the motivation to go out and play baseball and make this game a fun game. It seems like he had a lot of fun."

Henderson said he'll keep first base and send the ball to the Hall of Fame.

Phillies first baseman Travis Lee moved away from the bag to let Henderson have his moment, then walked over and congratulated him.

"That was awesome," Lee said. "If you think about it, that's 20 years of 100-plus walks a year. Not many guys are going to play this game for that long."

Henderson, 42, is in his 23rd major league season.

"It's quite a milestone," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "You're talking about history. I don't know if that will ever be broken. I'm proud for Rickey.

"It was great getting the leadoff hitter on that inning. But then we fell short."

Henderson, the career steals leader with 1,371, was thrown out by catcher Mike Lieberthal trying to take second -- head first, as usual -- as Mike Colangelo struck out.

Henderson was 10-for-24 lifetime against Mesa coming in, with 10 walks.

The record walk "came at a time we needed to get on," Henderson said. "You get up there and you're trying to work your way on the base, no matter which way you go, a walk or a hit."

"When they bring in their stopper out of the bullpen, you've got to go up there and be prepared to hit the ball. It so happened he walked me."

Henderson tied Ruth at 2,062 as a pinch-hitter in Tuesday night's 12-7 loss to the Phillies.

Henderson finished 1-for-4 with the walk and committed an error when he dropped Marlon Anderson's fly ball to left in the seventh.

"That's quite a record," Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. "He deserves it. He's probably the best leadoff hitter that's ever put the uniform on."

Said Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins: "We gave him his walk. We gave him his applause and then we get the double play."

Henderson needs 67 runs to break Ty Cobb's record of 2,245, and 83 hits to become the 25th player in baseball history to reach 3,000.

Lee hit a two-run homer for the second time in three games for the Phillies, who won their sixth straight.

The Padres pulled to 4-3 on Bubba Trammell's solo homer with one out in the eighth. They had runners on second and third with two outs, but rookie reliever Eddie Oropesa got pinch-hitter Wiki Gonzalez to ground out. The Phillies added a run on an error by first baseman Dave Magadan in the ninth.

Omar Daal, who led the majors with 19 losses last year, improved to 2-0. He allowed two runs and nine hits in seven innings in beating the Padres in consecutive starts. He also beat them on Aug. 8, his third start with Philadelphia after being acquired from Arizona in the Curt Schilling deal.

Mesa pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

Notes: Lee had one homer in 56 games after being traded from Arizona to Philadelphia last year, and just nine overall. ... The Padres have lost five straight games started by left-handers and are 3-7 overall this year against lefty starters. Last season, the Padres didn't record their third win against lefties until they beat Daal and the Diamondbacks on May 14.