Mercury News
Juan Uribe is turning out to be the biggest bargain on the Giants' roster this season. And Brad Penny isn't too far behind.
Uribe hit two home runs, including a three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh inning, and finished with five RBI as the Giants rediscovered their offensive punch in a 9-4 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday at AT&T Park.
The Giants scored five runs in the bottom of the third, aided by a two-run homer from Uribe, and finished with 13 hits. That was enough offense for Penny, who didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning to help record his second straight win since being signed by the Giants last week.
"He's a guy that can carry a ballclub," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Uribe. "You look at him and you may not think that, but he's got power and can do a lot of things for you."
Uribe's latest contributions came less than 24 hours after the squad absorbed a frustrating 2-1, 12-inning loss at Milwaukee and helped the Giants remain two games behind the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild-card chase.
Uribe, who signed a minor league contract with the Giants in January, started at third base on Monday as Bochy looked for a way to keep the Dominican native in the lineup with second baseman Freddy Sanchez returning from the disabled list. Pablo Sandoval was moved from third to first base.
The versatile Uribe, who is making $1 million this season, arguably has been the Giants' most impressive offensive player in the last month. He leads the team in home runs (eight) and RBI (18) since Aug. 1. Besides his two home runs, Uribe also tripled to right-center field to lead off the bottom of the second. He later scored from third on Clayton Richard's wild pitch to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. This month, Uribe's on-base-plus-slugging percentage is .994 and he has raised his batting average from .275 to .282. "If you have Juan Uribe, you love him," Bochy said. "He a lot of fun in the clubhouse, he's loose, he comes out ready to play every day. He's so valuable in the fact that you can put him anywhere." With a fastball ranging from 96-98 mph and good command of his offspeed pitches, Penny was perfect through the first four innings. He departed after allowing just two runs and three hits in seven innings with six strikeouts and one walk. One of the runs came courtesy of Adrian Gonzalez, whose solo homer in the sixth, which made it 6-2, caused a stir between Penny and the Padres dugout. Gonzalez took a moment to watch his 36th home run of the season sail over the center-field fence, something Penny didn't appreciate. Penny yelled at Gonzalez as the Padres All-Star rounded third base, and after he struck out Will Venable to end the San Diego half of the sixth, Penny clapped his hands and raised his arms in the direction of the Padres' dugout. "I was excited, and they were talking to me, too. It wasn't a one-way street, " said Penny, who received a standing ovation after he came off the mound in the seventh inning. "I got a little carried away and got caught up in the moment." The next start for Penny, who will be paid less than $100,000 by the Giants for the rest of the season after he signed a minor league contract last week, is scheduled to come against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend. "Brad? He's not a fifth starter, trust me," Bochy said. "He's pitched in big games, he's had a good career and he knows what he's doing out there."
 San Diego (61-78) Lost 1 | San Francisco 9, San Diego 4 |  San Francisco (76-62) Won 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 9/7/09 | Recap: SD | SF | Wrap | Gameday |
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