Giants cut Padres lead to one game in the National League West
The San Francisco Giants hit four homers, and right-hander Matt Cain pitched eight solid innings as the Giants beat the Padres 7-3 on Thursday night at PETCO Park.
Cain ended his five-game skid at PETCO Park and struck out eight Padres and walked one.
"We've had some bad times against these guys, so to win the first one is definitely big for us," said Cain, who yielded three hits much to the delight of the many Giants’ fans that made the trip to show their support.
Andres Torres would not disappoint those fans and gave them a reason to cheer early on as he opened the game and set the tone for the Giants by hitting a triple. San Francisco kept swinging and ended the night with 13 hits.
"They have an unbelievable lineup over there, especially with some of the moves that they've made," said Padres starter Jon Garland, who surrendered six runs and eight hits in just his five innings on the mound. "It seems like they just keep stacking it and stacking it. They're hungry. They haven't been to the playoffs in a long time and they want to do some things, and they've shown they're going to go out and try to do it."
The Giants’ four homers came off the bats of Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Pat Burrell and the rookie Buster Posey, who hit his 12th homer of the season.
"I got knocked around the yard," said Garland. "Terrible, especially to start a series. I guarantee you that there isn't a person in San Diego that feels worse than I do tonight."
The much needed victory improves the Giants’ record to 79-62 and trims San Francisco's National League West deficit to one game behind San Diego.
The Padres had won three consecutive games since a 10-game losing skid heading into their crucial four-game series with San Francisco on Thursday. But coming off their 17th shutout on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres’ offence seemed to have taken a step back and managed only five hits on the night.
The loss drops San Diego’s record to 79-60, and more importantly, failed to increase their lead in the division. The series continues on Friday as the Giants look to jump from second-place to first place with the Padres in the division.
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