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Friday, Sep. 15 10:05pm ET
Giants lose 3rd of past 16, all to Padres | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The San Francisco Giants have seen enough of the San Diego Padres. Ed Sprague drove in the go-ahead run with a pinch-hit single in the eighth inning, giving the Padres a 5-4 victory over the Giants on Friday night. Sprague fought off an inside fastball for a looping single to center that scored Ruben Rivera from second base, handing the Giants only their third loss -- all to the Padres -- in the last 16 games. "It's hard to explain why you play well against certain teams, but lately we've done all right against them," Sprague said. The Padres are the only team since Aug. 29 to beat San Francisco, which still leads the NL West by 7½ games over Arizona. The Diamondbacks defeated Atlanta, 2-1. San Diego split a four-game series at San Francisco last weekend, including a 10-7 win that saw the Padres erase a 7-1 deficit. "The guys did a great job of executing in the seventh and eighth," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. Tom Davey (2-0) pitched the eighth inning for the win. Trevor Hoffman came on in the ninth for his 40th save in 47 opportunities, becoming only the third player in baseball history with four 40-save seasons. Rivera led off the inning with an infield single and was sacrificed to second. With two outs, Doug Henry (3-4) walked Ryan Klesko intentionally, bringing up Sprague. "I got ahead in the count and I just wanted to stay back on the ball," said Sprague. "I was able to just get enough of it." Sprague was hitting just .111 (5-for-45) off right-handers before connecting against Henry. The Giants wasted a 4-0 lead this time, and still led 4-1 heading into the seventh. "I can't complain about the way I threw the ball," Henry said. "I'm just not happy with the results." Giants manager Dusty Baker thought his team was in position to close out the game. "We had the right matchups out there," Baker said. "Tonight was one of those nights it didn't work." The Padres began their comeback from a 4-0 deficit in the fifth as Eric Owens doubled in Damian Jackson, who singled. Owens, 3-for-4 with a walk, keyed a three-run seventh inning with a leadoff double off reliever Alan Embree. Ryan Klesko followed with an RBI single. After a walk to Dave Magadan and a sacrifice, Klesko scored on Mike Darr's groundout. Desi Relaford then tied the game at 4 with an RBI single. "It was just a simple fact that I left a couple of pitches up, and it proved costly," said Embree, who allowed three runs on three hits while retiring two batters in the seventh. San Francisco starter Russ Ortiz allowed one run on four hits in six innings and left with a 4-1 lead. Ortiz battled wildness as he walked six and struck out six. The Giants took a 2-0 lead in the fourth, as Rich Aurilia had a ground-rule double with the bases loaded. Marvin Benard, who was 4-for-5, led off the fifth with a triple and scored on Mueller's ground ball, that was misplayed for an error by Klesko. Mueller went to third on a walk and a double play, then scored on Snow's single to put San Francisco up 4-0. Game notesDennis Eckersley and John Wetteland are the only other pitchers with four 40 save seasons. ... The Giants lost for just the fourth time in 15 road games. ... The Padres snapped Ortiz's career-best, seven-game winning streak last Saturday at San Francisco. ... Ellis Burks returned to the Giants' starting lineup after missing the last three games due to a strained right knee. He was 0-for-3 with a walk. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard San Francisco Clubhouse San Diego Clubhouse RECAPS Seattle 10 Baltimore 2
San Diego 5
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