San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - David Eckstein went 2-for-2 with three walks and two RBI, helping the surprising San Diego Padres remain in first place with a 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Twenty Padres Reach And Bullpen Holds Tight As Giants Fall In Match-Up Of NL West’s Best
Adrian Gonzalez and Oscar Salazar added two hits apiece for the Padres, who have won three of four and all four games against the Giants this season. Picked by many to have no chance at a postseason berth, San Diego stands in first place in the NL West at 20-12 with the help of some excellent pitching to begin the season, allowing an NL-best 3.09 runs per game.
Yorvit Torrealba added an RBI for San Diego, and Wade LeBlanc allowed two runs, six hits and four walks in a 4 2/3-inning start. Ryan Webb (1-1) earned the win after 1 1/3 frames of scoreless relief, and Heath Bell notched his ninth save of the season.
Aubrey Huff went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for the Giants, who have lost three of four. Barry Zito (5-1) was beaten for the first time this season, laboring through five frames and allowing three runs on six hits and a career-high tying seven walks.
San Diego grabbed the lead in the second, scoring twice.
Salazar reached base on a one-out infield single, and Jerry Hairston Jr. followed with a ground-rule double over the centerfield wall. Two batters later, Scott Hairston walked to load the bases with two outs for Eckstein, whose single scored Salazar and Jerry Hairston.
The Giants got one back in the third, as Pablo Sandoval tripled with one out and scored on Huff's single.
In the fifth, Kyle Blanks walked with one down, stole second and scored on Torrealba's base hit to give San Diego a 3-1 lead.
San Francisco again got to within one in the home half on Juan Uribe's RBI triple, scoring Huff, who had doubled a batter earlier.
The Padres looked to add some insurance in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs for Gonzalez, who struck out versus Dan Runzler to end the inning.
Luke Gregerson came on to pitch for San Diego in the home seventh and allowed only a one-out single in a scoreless frame, and Mike Adams threw a perfect eighth for the Padres.
Bell came on in the ninth and pitched around a two-out walk to secure the win.
Zito’s earned run average is still just 1.90...The Giants are second in the NL in runs allowed per game at 3.23...Zito is 3-7 lifetime against the Padres and 0-5 in 2009-10...Gregerson has a 16 1/3-inning scoreless streak, the longest active stretch in the majors...San Francisco is 4-11 when its opponent scores first and 14-2 when it scores first.
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