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 But one thing remained the same: Buster Posey was hitting clean-up.
And clean up is exactly what he did.
Posey belted a grand slam, and Ryan Vogelsong threw six shutout
innings, leading the Giants to a 6-0 victory over the San Diego
Padres.
The Giants, who recorded just their second win in their past 12 home
games, remain one game behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in
the National League West.
"We played well tonight," Giants manager Bruce Bochy assessed
afterward with a sigh of relief.
Center fielder Angel Pagan, third baseman Matt Duffy and catcher
Andrew Susac all responded well to new roles. But it was the same
old Posey who was the difference-maker.
His second grand slam of the season and fourth of his career
highlighted a five-run third inning that opened the game's scoring
and provided Vogelsong and three Giants relievers all the offensive
support they would need.
"That's a huge hit," Bochy said of the blow that produced more runs
(four) than the team's scoring average (2.3) during its recent home
struggles. "I kid around (saying) I love three-run homers. But I
love grand slams better."
All five runs in the third against Padres right-hander Ian Kennedy
were unearned as the inning began with an error by third baseman
Will Middlebrooks on a grounder by Susac.
Right fielder Gregor Blanco followed with a single, and after a
sacrifice bunt by Vogelsong, Pagan drew a walk to load the bases.
Second baseman Joe Panik's sacrifice fly scored Susac with the
game's first run before Kennedy walked Duffy, who before the game
had been promoted to the No. 3 spot in the lineup. That brought
Posey to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, and the first
baseman belted a two-strike change-up into the left-field bleachers.
"Especially with two strikes, I was trying to stay short, hit a line
drive," Posey noted. "Fortunately, it turned into something more."
Vogelsong (6-5) took it from there. In recording his second
consecutive win, he ran his streak of consecutive scoreless innings
to 12 2/3 with five-hit, two-walk ball. He struck out four.
His biggest scare came immediately following the five-run uprising.
The first two batters Vogelsong faced in the top of the fourth
reached second and third with no outs, but he was able to get out of
the inning unscathed.
"That was a big inning for us," assured Posey, who started the game
at first base. "It kept the momentum on our side."
Left-hander Javier Lopez and righties George Kontos and Jean Machi
pitched one hitless inning apiece to complete the Giants' 12th
shutout of the season and fourth against the Padres.
San Francisco had only six hits in the game, but three went for
extra bases.
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Susac, who Bochy said before the game will be getting more catching
opportunities in the near-future, had a double and his first career
triple. Blanco had two singles.
Kennedy (4-6) gave up six runs (one earned) in six innings. He
allowed five hits and four walks, and struck out six.
"It's not just the defense's fault and it's not just Ian's fault.
It's all kind of together," Padres manager Pat Murphy assessed. "The
offense could have made it a closer game."
Left fielder Justin Upton had two of San Diego's five hits,
including a double.
The Padres, who were coming off an 11-inning win in the series
opener, were shut out for the 11th time this season.
"I've been told by the staff that I trust that this has been a
microcosm of the season. They haven't been able to sustain it,"
Murphy noted. "They've had games like this and we've got to change
that. I didn't say it was easy. I didn't say the answers were right
behind the curtain here. But here's reason for hope."
NOTES: Giants C Buster Posey is 3-for-6 with two grand slams and 10
RBIs with the bases loaded this season. ... Padres RF Matt Kemp
batted leadoff for the first time this season and the 47th time in
his career. He went 0-for-4. Kemp hadn't batted first in the order
since 2010. "We need to strike first," Padres manager Pat Murphy
explained. ... The Padres promoted RHP Kevin Quackenbush and RHP
Marcos Mateo from Triple-A El Paso and both pitched a scoreless
inning. To make room on the active roster, the club sent RHP Nick
Vincent to El Paso and placed RHP Dale Thayer on the 15-day disabled
list with a strained right shoulder. To create a spot for Mateo on
the 40-man roster, the Padres transferred RHP Brandon Morrow (right
shoulder inflammation) from the 15-day to 60-day disabled list. ...
The Giants placed LF Nori Aoki (broken right fibula) on the 15-day
disabled list and recalled 1B/OF Travis Ishikawa from Triple-A
Sacramento. Ishikawa struck out as a pinch hitter.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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