SAN DIEGO -- Nestor Cortes had one of the lowest moments of his baseball life in October when he gave up the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history to the Los Angeles Dodgers ' Freddie Freeman .

In a new uniform and a new pennant race Saturday night, Cortes faced his Dodgers demons head-on -- and he came out smiling.

The veteran left-hander produced six brilliant innings of one-hit ball while his San Diego Padres surged past Los Angeles into sole possession of first place in the National League West with a 5-1 victory .

Cortes took a perfect game into the sixth inning, flummoxing the Dodgers' high-priced lineup and combining with three relievers on a two-hitter. But Cortes didn't see this stellar performance as redemption for his role in Freeman's now-iconic slam at

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