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 "I'm catching some flak right now from the guys in here,"
Samardzija said. "I was trying to get back out there."
Samardzija pitched eight innings of one-run ball as San Francisco
defeated San Diego, 3-1, to complete a three-game sweep.
Samardzija (6-2) allowed but three hits as the Giants won their
season-high eighth straight game. He struck out eight and retired
the final 19 Padres he faced.
His showing, which gave San Francisco its 10th win in 13 games, came
on the heels of complete-game victories by Madison Bumgarner and
Johnny Cueto.
"He did a good job," Padres manager Andy Green said of Samardzija.
"Honestly, I'm at the point where I'm pretty much done tipping my
hat to other pitchers. We have to have better at-bats."
The triumph capped a 7-0 road trip for the first-place Giants, as
they return home to face the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs on
Friday.
Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his 10th save.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Samardzija he was done when he
entered the dugout after the eighth.
"Boch is going to be in the Hall," Samardzija said. "So I didn't
fight too hard."
That sounds like the Padres after scoring but three runs in the
series.
 Not that Bochy expected much pushback from Samardzija.
"He did bring that up to me," Bochy said about the team going for
three straight complete games. "He was good either way. Fortunately
it worked out.
"He had good stuff, good command. He really got locked in there on
that nice run. He did a good job of pounding the strike zone."
Joe Panik, who entered the game in a 0-for-15 skid, had four hits
for the Giants.
James Shields (2-6) lost for the second time in three starts,
surrendering three runs on nine hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings. He
recorded seven strikeouts.
"He competes," Green said. "That's who he is."
The Padres have dropped four straight and five of six after being
manhandled by the Giants' staff.
"You run into guys like that, that throw the ball really well," Wil
Myers said. "But I think there are situations where we could have
better at-bats, me as well."
Brandon Crawford, who had five RBIs on Tuesday, belted his sixth
homer of the year to open the seventh. He redirected Shields' 87 mph
cutter for a 3-1
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San Francisco cushion.
Shields escaped trouble in the sixth when it looked as if the Giants
were going to add to their lead.
Panik opened with his third hit -- a single -- and stole second.
After Matt Duffy struck out, Buster Posey hit a line drive to left
field that Melvin Upton Jr. squared up. But the ball bounced off his
glove as Posey was awarded a single when it was determined Upton
lost the ball in the lights.
With runners on the corners, Shields got Brandon Belt to fly out and
Hunter Pence on a fielder's choice to keep it a one-run game.
San Diego's Matt Kemp, who threw out a runner earlier in the game,
had a two-base error in the fourth when Duffy's fly ball ricocheted
off his glove. It was a costly mistake as Pence, whose two-run homer
won Wednesday's game, delivered a broken-bat single up the middle to
score Duffy for a 2-1 Giants edge.
San Diego tied the game at 1 in the second, thanks to the return of
their spark plug.
Alexei Amarista, the 5-foot-6 second baseman who was activated from
the disabled list Wednesday, came up with a big hit. His two-out
double down the right-field line scored Christian Bethancourt, after
he started the inning with a single. Shields struck out to strand
Amarista.
The Giants struck fast, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Shields walked leadoff batter Denard Span and paid for it. After
advancing to third on Panik's single and Duffy's swinging bunt,
Posey's sacrifice fly chased in Span. The run nearly didn't count as
Kemp's throw cut down Panik trying to advance to third for the third
out, just after Span touched the plate.
NOTES: Padres CF Jon Jay was back atop the lineup after not starting
since injuring his shoulder on Friday in Milwaukee and went 2-for-4.
... Melvin Upton Jr. was elevated to the second spot in the order.
... 3B Yangervis Solarte (hamstring) is playing in Triple-A El Paso
on a rehab assignment. ... Giants manager Bruce Bochy is keeping 3B
Matt Duffy and 2B Joe Panik in their usual lineup spots, despite
both of them struggling. They were a combined 0-for-31 before the
game. ... RHP Jeff Samardzija hadn't pitched in Petco Park since
Aug. 24, 2013.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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