It wasn’t exactly pretty, but the San Francisco Giants finally beat the San Diego Padres.
Jeff Samardzija was lights out for the orange and black, striking out a season high nine batters as the Giants bested the Padres for the first time in seven games, squeaking by in a 2-1 victory at Petco Park. The game remained scoreless until the eighth inning, when an Angel Pagan RBI single gave San Francisco the lead. Padres first baseman Will Meyers appeared to make a crucial mistake by cutting off a throw from right-field that looked like it was going to beat Joe Panik at the plate, though it remains unclear if San Diego catcher Austin Hedges would’ve been in position to make a play. Hunter Pence added an insurance run with an RBI double two batters later.
Unfortunately for the Giants, the New York Mets decided to win their only game of the season when trailing through eight innings (in 64 attempts) overcoming two separate two-run deficits in the ninth an 11th to beat the Philadelphia Phillies. With the Cardinals taking a day off, both New York and San Francisco take a half game lead over St. Louis in the NL Wild Card standings.
Samardzija didn’t walk a single batter, and only once found himself with a runner in scoring position on Thursday, when San Diego starting pitcher Christian Friedrich reached on an error in the sixth inning. Samardzija buckled down, retiring the next three hitters, including consecutive strikeouts of Will Meyers and Ryan Schimpf to end the inning.
Friedrich was a beast in his own right, and pitched well enough to earn a win on most nights, striking out six while giving up three hits in seven innings. Consecutive hits by Joe Panik and Kelby Tomlinson to open the eighth proved to be his undoing. Brad Hand was unable to clean up the mess, tagging Friedrich with both runs.
The Giants loaded the bases in the second inning, reaching on three walks by Friedrich, but failed to score when Samardzija struck out to end the frame.
San Francisco also sqandered a chance to add to their lead in the eighth with runners on second and third. The missed opportunity looked like it might have dire consequences in the bottom half of the inning, when Adam Dickerson cut the Giants’ lead in half with a solo homer off Derek Law. Law did not look sharp in his brief relief appearance, giving up a deep fly out to John Jay before Dickerson cut loose.
Sergio Romo gave the Giants a brief scare in the ninth, when Schimpf reached on a one-out bloop double. Romo put the fears of another blown save to rest, getting the next two batters out on an infield popup and a ground out earning his third save of the season.
With their playoff hopes long gone, three Padres made their major league debut, fresh off their loss in the Triple-A title game with the El Paso Chihuahuas. Hunter Renfroe was the only of the three to reach base, leading San Diego with two hits.
Albert Suarez (3-4 4.16 ERA) takes the hill for San Francisco in game two of the four game set on Friday night, facing off against the struggling Edwin Jackson (4-6 6.00 ERA). First pitch is at 7:40 on KNBR 680.
