Padres 6, Giants 4
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Padres beat the Giants 6-4 on Sunday in front of 41,511 at AT&T Park in a game that looked a lot more like one played in March instead of late September.
The Padres broke a 2-2 with a pair of runs in the seventh inning. Yonder Alonso's one-out, bases-loaded single to left-center field scored Everth Cabrera and Logan Forsythe. Cabrera had singled and Forsythe walked off of Giants reliever Clay Hensley, who intentionally walked Yasmani Grandal in front of Alonso.
The Giants closed to within one in their half of the inning when rookie outfielder Francisco Peguero scored on a fielder's choice ground ball. Peguero, who collected his first major league hit with an infield single in the fourth, singled hard to left to start the frame.
San Diego tacked two more on in the eighth inning after two were out. Pinch-hitter Mark Kotsay picked on an 0-1 pitch and sent it over the center field fence off of San Francisco's Brad Penny for his second home run of the season. Cabrera walked and stole consecutive bases before trotting home on catcher Hector Sanchez's overthrow to third. Cabrera has 37 steals this season.
The Giants had their chance in the ninth. Pinch-hitting Buster Posey bounced into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and one out that scored a run. But Ryan Theriot's liner to center was caught to snap San Francisco's six-game winning streak.
Having clinched the National League West division title the night before, the Giants' lineup on Sunday looked straight out of spring training. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Gregor Blanco was the lone familiar face among the starting nine.
Manager Bruce Bochy scratched original starting pitcher Tim Lincecum in favor of 27-year-old right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, who made his first big-league start since September of 2009 while a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Lincecum is now set to start Tuesday's game against the visiting Diamondbacks following Monday's off-day.
Bochy delivered the news late Saturday after the Giants' clincher as Lincecum had already left the park to get rest for the day-time start following a night game.
"I feel bad we didn't tell Timmy earlier so he didn't miss out, but that's hard to do," Bochy said.
Signed in the offseason as a minor-league free agent, Petit made the most of his opportunity until surrendering four straight hits in the fifth inning. The last of the four straight singles -- a drive to left-center by San Diego's catcher Grandal -- chased Forsythe home for a 2-2 tie and chased Petit from the mound.
It could have been a bigger inning for the visitors if Cabrera hadn't been thrown out on an attempted steal after reaching on a one-out single. San Diego tested Eli Whiteside twice, but the Giants little-used catcher gunned both would-be basestealers.
The Padres scored first with a single run in the second. San Diego starter and winner Eric Stults (7-3) successfully bunted Alexei Amarista into scoring position with one out. Giants second baseman Theriot, covering first base on the sacrifice, tried to throw behind Amarista with Blanco sneaking in from the outfield, but the throw was wild and Amarista scored easily.
The Giants rallied for two runs in the fourth to take the lead. Xavier Nady sent a first-pitch fastball into the left-center field gap to plate Theriot, who led off with a single to right. And Whiteside's bases-loaded sacrifice fly to center scored Nagy three batters later.
NOTES -- Grandal batted cleanup and made his 45th start behind the plate for the Padres. Including Nick Hundley (56) and John Baker (50), the Padres have three catchers with 40 or more starts for the first time since 1993. ... Reinstated from the disabled list, San Diego reliever Huston Street saw his streak of scoreless pitching end at 22 innings after surrendering a run in the ninth. ... The Giants are off on Monday before hosting Arizona on Tuesday for the first of three games. Arizona's Tyler Skaggs (1-3) is set to oppose Lincecum (10-14). ... Following Monday's off-day, the Padres open their final homestand of the season with the first of three games against Los Angeles on Tuesday when Edinson Volquez (10-11) will oppose Josh Beckett (1-2) for the Dodgers.
