Giants Win And Padres Lose, As Only Both Can

Three days off didn't do much for the San Diego Padres' luck.

• a 2-1 loss in which Barry Zito pitched one of the best games of his career;
• a 1-0 loss in which the Padres loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth; and
• a 1-0 loss in which they didn't give up a hit until the ninth inning, with two outs.

Just off the Disabled List last week, Aaron Harang made it two straight starts without allowing a run; this time, he shut out the Giants for seven innings. Meanwhile, the Padres tallied a single run in the third with three straight singles, Chase Headley's drive to left field plating Chris Denorfia with the game's only marker ... until the ninth.

San Diego's Mike Adams pitched a scoreless eighth, lowering his ERA this season to 1.29 (and 1.36 over the last three seasons). The Padres, of course, did not score in the eighth.

And the ninth brought Heath Bell from the bullpen. Heath Bell, who had blown just one save all season. Heath Bell, who just two nights earlier had been one of the few good things about watching the All-Star Game. Heath Bell, who hadn't given up a home run since April 19, 2010.

Thursday night, Aubrey Huff would be Bell's first challenge. Aubrey Huff, who's been struggling all season. Aubrey Huff, who'd hit only eight home runs in 90 games. Aubrey Huff, who's sort of lucky he hasn't lost his job to Brandon Belt yet.

Bell did lock down the rest of the ninth. Nobody scored in the 10th or 11th. In the 12th, the Giants scored five runs, all of them unearned, thanks largely to reliever Luke Gregerson's fielding error. And of course the Padres finally did score a run in the bottom of the 12th. Which left them only four short of actually winning a game.