Burrell's homer carries Giants past Arizona 3-1

Henry Schulman SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

Wait a minute. Pat Burrell needs to take deep breaths and calm himself in a pennant race? He's the guy with the World Series ring. He's supposed to be soothing the young'uns.

Whatever Burrell does, be it breathing exercises, yoga or primal-scream therapy, every teammate should mimic it. On a night the Giants edged that much closer to a Champagne celebration, Cool Hand Pat hit a three-run homer against Ian Kennedy in the fourth inning for the team's only runs in Wednesday's 3-1 victory against Arizona.

An ill Tim Lincecum pitched seven excellent innings in what probably was his final regular-season start. He overcame a Stephen Drew homer to start the game and went seven innings, striking out 11 to raise his league-leading season total to 231. If Lincecum is done, he finished 16-10 with a 3.43 ERA in 212 1/3 innings.

More significant, the Giants' 90th win reduced to three their magic number for winning the National League West. If they win and San Diego loses today, the Giants will clinch a tie for the title before the Padres walk through the door Friday.

"That's a nice little comfortable lead to be out to," Lincecum said of the team's two-game advantage with four to play.

Moreover, the Giants essentially moved three games ahead of Cincinnati for potential playoff seeding. That is a big deal. By finishing ahead of the Reds, the Giants would assure home-field advantage for the Division Series and prevent a first-round date with the Phillies.

Burrell's homer on a low, inside fastball followed a leadoff single by Aubrey Huff and a four-pitch walk to Buster Posey by Kennedy, whose 0.75 September ERA was the lowest among big-league starters with at least 20 innings. Burrell reached 20 for the season, 18 of them for the Giants.

"Obviously he was looking for that pitch," Kennedy said. "I was pounding him in before that. At the time I felt it was the right pitch. Now that I look back at it, it probably wasn't."

Manager Bruce Bochy said Burrell and the other playoff-experienced Giants had a calming influence on the kids who have not been there, but the left fielder acknowledged it is tough for anyone in this boat to stay calm.

"It's a hard thing for me and most of the guys to find a way to calm yourself down," he said. "When big situations come up, it's only natural to feel the excitement of the stadium and the adrenaline. That's something that takes you off your game plan. It's a hard thing to calm down and play for the moment."

That could be true for rookie Madison Bumgarner, who pitches the series finale today. Bochy announced he will flop Matt Cain and Barry Zito for the Padres series. Cain will pitch Friday night, as of now the Giants' first chance to clinch the West, with Zito going Saturday. Jonathan Sanchez will pitch as scheduled Sunday.

"It's just letting Matt pitch on regular rest like we did with Timmy," Bochy said.

Bochy already fiddled with the rotation and advanced Lincecum's start one night. That was a cue for Burrell, whose two-run homer against Colorado's Jhoulys Chacin also accounted for the only Giants' runs in Lincecum's 2-1 win at Colorado on Friday.

"Burrell saved my butt last time too with a home run," Lincecum said. "It reminds me of the days when Bengie (Molina) used to save my butt with big home runs."

As usual, Brian Wilson saved the Giants' collective rear end. After Javier Lopez pitched a shutout eighth, Wilson overcame two baserunners in the ninth and shut down Arizona for his 47th save. One more and he will tie Rod Beck's franchise record of 48.

Box Score

Giants beat Diamondbacks 4-2

Henry Schulman SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

In baseball, as in life, there always is time for redemption. Faith can be rewarded in the midsummer stifle, the warmth of autumn's bow and even in an early-November freeze, thanks to the modern schedule.

For Pablo Sandoval, it arrived in the 157th game of an awful personal season, and he hardly could have picked a better time. With two outs in the sixth inning of a tie game Tuesday night, Sandoval blasted a Rodrigo Lopez fastball off the bricks in right-center for a double, then scored on a pinch-hit single by Nate Schierholtz.

Sandoval slammed his hands together three times as he crossed the plate for the go-ahead run in a 4-2 victory against the Diamondbacks, which elevated the Giants to a season-best two-game lead in the National

League West over San Diego with five to play.

Sandoval also singled and made a diving stop of a Tony Abreu smash to end the top of the sixth, showing range that was missing for much of the year.

"When you score a run to get ahead it's exciting, especially at this moment, when you're fighting to win the division," Sandoval said.

Though the Giants hesitate to say they can taste the franchise's first division title in seven years, at least they can see it clearly on the menu.

"We're close," Sandoval said. "We've got five more games here. We're trying to play hard and need to play hard every game. Don't get comfortable."

Nothing has been comfortable for the Giants in 2010. They even needed a five-out save from Brian Wilson, his 46th, to take the series opener against an Arizona team that is spoiling to spoil.

Jonathan Sanchez earned his 12th win, which seemed like a fantasy when he was throwing ball four to everyone but Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson in the first two innings. In the second, Sanchez could see Chris Ray getting loose in the bullpen. Manager Bruce Bochy said he took the hook out of its case.

"This is (like a) playoff game," Sanchez said. "We can't lose this game. I know what's going on, but I just kept battling out there."

Despite four walks in the span of eight batters, Sanchez held the Diamondbacks to one run over the first two innings, on a sacrifice fly by pitcher Rodrigo Lopez. A Kelly Johnson homer in the third upped Arizona's lead to 2-0.

Sanchez saved himself and the team with three shutout innings to finish. He also struck out six to become the fourth left-hander in Giants history, and the first since Ray Sadecki in 1968, to reach 200 strikeouts.

The Giants tied the game on a leadoff triple by Andres Torres in the third, followed by Mike Fontenot's single, and Juan Uribe's 23rd homer to start the fourth. That tied his career high.

Lopez retired the first two Giants in the eighth before Sandoval, batting eighth, hit his double and scored on the Schierholtz single. Pat Burrell added an RBI single for insurance in the seventh.

Sandoval had been benched and might not have started had Freddy Sanchez been healthy. Bochy sheepishly declined to confirm that. Sandoval started to hit some balls hard on the road as a reserve and, in Bochy's words, seemed "more relaxed and comfortable."

Sandoval said he opened his stance a bit after watching some 2009 video with batting coach Hensley Meulens, which helps him see the ball longer. Good friend Torres provided the moral support.

"He's doing a great job," Torres said. "I told him to be positive. Every day we're going to battle to win. Forget about concentrating on what happened before. We've got to go out and play every game hard. That's the key for us.

Box Score

Matt Cain loses no-hit bid in 8th, still beats Rockies

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

Matt Cain the warhorse. Matt Cain the bulldog. See something else in the menagerie you like? Pick that, too.

Cain has the stuff, the temperament and the stone-cold eyes of a pitcher who could keep sawing off bats deep into October. And in one of the biggest turning-point games of the Giants' season, Cain pitched like an absolute beast to get them one step closer to the playoffs.

The laconic kid from Tennessee got within five outs of the second no-hitter in Coors Field history but settled for a complete game while hammering a pine box for the dangerous Colorado Rockies in a 4-2 victory Sunday afternoon.

The Giants enter the final week of the season as a first-place team once again, a half-game in front of the San Diego Padres. It's the fourth lead change in five days atop the wild, wild NL West.

The Giants stand there because of a 43-38 record away from AT&T Park -- their first winning mark on the road since 2004 -- and a 4-2 trip that included a series victory in their most hostile venue.

"I've been here a lot. I know how leads can evaporate," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "But we had the right guy out there. He was a bulldog and he did all he could to get this done."

Freddy Sanchez played despite an ailing shoulder and hit a two-run home run in the first inning, and Cain held the Rockies hitless until the eighth. With one out, shortstop Juan Uribe double-clutched after fielding Jay Payton's infield single.

confrontations with Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki.

Gonzalez singled for the only hit by Colorado's torrid tandem. But Cain retired Tulowitzki on a pop-up and froze Jason Giambi with a curveball to end it. It was his eighth strikeout, all coming in the fifth inning or later as he switched to more breaking stuff.

"He had pinpoint accuracy with everything," catcher Buster Posey said. "If I wanted a ball down, it was down. If I wanted it up, it was up."

Tulowitzki said: "Obviously, their staff is stacked. Early on, he was good. And later on, he was just as good."

Cain had taken a no-hit bid into the eighth inning once before, in 2006 against the Angels. It got broken up with four outs to go. This time, he was confident he'd see it through.

"I felt I had good enough stuff," said Cain, who settled for his 12th career complete game. "I felt I still had enough oomph at the end to be able to throw the ball down in the zone and throw pitches where I wanted to.

"It didn't work out, but we won, and that's what we needed to do."

The Giants got everything they wanted, needed or could possibly desire on another feverishly splendid day in the stretch drive. Not only did the Padres lose, but so did the Atlanta Braves, who entered the day tied with the Giants atop the NL wild-card standings.

They even got to rest closer Brian Wilson, who was available and began warming up despite throwing 36 pitches over three innings a night earlier.

"I was doing all I could to stay away from Willie," Bochy said. "But if Matt needed help, we were ready."

The Giants added a run in the third inning on Pat Burrell's sacrifice fly, which Aubrey Huff set up by refusing to give himself up in a rundown. Huff slid safely into third as shortstop Tulowitzki floated his throw.

Cody Ross, whose leadoff walk preceded Sanchez's homer in the first, added a solo shot in the seventh.

It added up to the Giants' seventh consecutive victory behind Cain, and their 12th in his past 14 starts. Before Mora's pinch homer, Cain also had a streak of 20 scoreless innings.

Cain has taken a no-hit bid into the seventh five times in his career, and it seems a matter of time and circumstance before he achieves one. But while Uribe lamented double-clutching on Payton's infield hit, saying he should have gotten the out, Cain didn't dwell on it.

"It would've been great if it happened, but you've got to get guys out," Cain said. "We had the lead, and you've got to finish out the game."

There were other sources of satisfaction. The Rockies all but acknowledged their season was over after falling 41/2 games out.

"We put ourselves in good position," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. "Then we did ourselves in."

Box Score

Tim Lincecum, Pat Burrell lead Giants past Rockies 2-1

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

It's too late for Tim Lincecum to make a Cy Young push. The trophy will go to someone else in 2010.

Ask him if he cares.

"Not at all," said the Giants' lithe and lethal ace, who responded to his biggest start as a Giant with one of his brightest efforts Friday night. "You've heard (Albert) Pujols say it. I don't care about awards. I want the ring. I want a World Series."

The playoff drums are beating louder for the Giants, and even players like Lincecum with no postseason experience could hear them after a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Lincecum took a perfect game into the sixth inning, and Pat Burrell lowered the boom. His two-run home run off Jhoulys Chacin in the seventh inning erased a one-run deficit, quieted the din at Coors Field and slashed a tire on Colorado's fading rally car.

It was another dramatic, turnaround swing of the bat for Burrell, who was unemployed for a week in May after the Tampa Bay Rays released him. Since the Giants picked him up, he has a .370 on-base percentage and 17 home runs in 260 at-bats.

"I think about it all the time: I could still be home on the couch," Burrell said. "The Giants gave me an opportunity and without that, who knows?"

Who knows what will happen next? The Giants' regular season is down to eight games, and not only do they hold a half-game edge over the San Diego Padres in the NL West, but they would lead the wild card pack, too.

The Rockies fell to 41/2 games out -- four back in the loss column. Knocking them out wouldn't guarantee the Giants anything, but it would be one fewer Chihuahua nipping at their ankles.

Burrell's homer delivered the victory, but for the 18th consecutive game, the Giants' pitching staff paid the postage. Lincecum extended the longest streak by a club allowing three runs or fewer since the 1917 Chicago White Sox, who had a 20-game run.

Following a career-worst five-start losing streak in August, the two-time defending Cy Young Award winner is 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA in five outings this month. He has 41 strikeouts and just four walks.

And he's only getting better. Mixing his rediscovered slider with his deadly changeup, and throwing some first-pitch curveballs for good measure, Lincecum struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. He only had two three-ball counts.

"Everybody knows what's at stake right now, what we're pushing to get to," said Lincecum, who held the Rockies to two hits in eight innings. "It's even more valuable to me because of what I went through in August. But in September it's not about me. It's about the team."

Those were the talking points for GM Brian Sabean when he gave four-fifths of the rotation a stern lecture Aug. 28.

"It was just telling us to wake up," Lincecum said. "We know what we can do, and it's not about stats anymore. It's not about individuals. It's just pick up the guy behind you. Pick up the team. Do it for the team.

"We know what we can do. Just realize it."

The Rockies managed their only two hits in the sixth, one a run-scoring ground ball from Eric Young Jr. that skipped under Aubrey Huff's diving attempt at first base.

Chacin was on the verge of beating the Giants for the third time in three starts, but they worked the talented rookie's pitch count to 98 through six innings. Rockies manager Jim Tracy let Chacin hit for himself in the sixth to avoid his exhausted bullpen, and Chacin's slider flattened out in the seventh just enough for Burrell to crank it into the left-field bleachers.

Lincecum responded with the ol' shutdown inning, impressively getting ground balls from Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki. The Rockies' white-hot duo was hitless in six at-bats.

"That's what won the game for us," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "They've got the heart of their order. They feel they're in pretty good position. But Timmy steps up there and gives us that shutdown inning."

With Lincecum at 106 pitches through eight, Bochy had his own decision to make. It was an easy call after Lincecum mentioned he had some mild tightness in his right calf, and closer Brian Wilson worked a perfect ninth to record his 45th save in 49 chances.

And the thumping grew louder.

"The last eight games of the season, you can give it all you've got or you can give in," Wilson said. "We're not the team to give in."

Box Score

San Francisco Giants pound Chicago Cubs 13-0, return to first place

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

They built Wrigley Field at a time when most of the country still traveled by horse-drawn carriage, and the baseball facilities reflect it. The visiting batting cage is a tiny cave underneath the right-field bleachers.

But if the Giants do something magical in the cool evenings this autumn, that tight little hovel under the ivy will become a venerated place in franchise history.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy challenged his frustrated, impatient hitters in a cramped, pregame meeting, and they responded like they had visited the grotto at Lourdes in a 13-0 smashing of the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night. And just like that, the Giants moved back into first place, a half-game in front of the San Diego Padres.

Juan Uribe took the biggest draft of holy water, hitting a two-run home run and a grand slam in the second inning -- the largest output of RBIs by a Giant in a single inning in 40 years.

"It was a perfect time to meet and a perfect outcome," said Cody Ross, who had three hits, including his first homer as a Giant. "We all came together tonight. And our pitching "... it goes without saying how good they are.

"We talked about it: We've got to take it upon ourselves to get these pitchers the runs they deserve."

It was a balmy night on the North Side, and the flags stiffly pointed out to left field, but the prime hitting conditions didn't prevent Giants rookie Madison Bumgarner from recording a career-high nine strikeouts over seven innings.

It was a history-making

performance. The Giants held their opponent to three runs or fewer for the 17th consecutive game -- the longest streak since a 20-game run by the 1917 Chicago White Sox.

Buster Posey tapped the side of his wooden locker when told of the streak, then blinked in disbelief when informed of the history behind it.

"Wow," the rookie catcher said. "Well, they deserve all the credit. We've got guys like (Dan) Runzler in the ninth inning tonight coming in with 95 mph from the left side. That shows you what kind of staff we have right there. That's the simplest way to put it."

Despite the stellar pitching, the Giants wasted many of those nights while winning just 10 of 16 before Thursday. They scored just one run over the first two games of this series.

Bochy's pregame message was simple and firm.

"The gist was it'll take everybody keeping their focus, grinding at-bats and trusting the guy behind you," the manager said. "Just get a quality at-bat and keep the line moving."

The Giants were facing a hot pitcher, too. Ryan Dempster entered with 14 scoreless innings over his previous two starts. But former Cub Mike Fontenot set the tone with a leadoff single, and Freddy Sanchez followed with a hit-and-run single. Aubrey Huff walked to load the bases for Posey, who grounded into a double play that scored Fontenot but minimized the inning.

"We only got one run, and that can get you down," Bochy said. "But the guys did a great job and responded."

Dempster hit Jose Guillen with a pitch to lead off the second inning, Uribe pummeled an 0-2 slider onto Waveland Avenue, and the line moved from there. After a double, three singles and a walk, Dempster hit Guillen with another pitch -- the first time in the Giants' 127-year history a player got plunked twice in the same inning.

Uribe cleared the bases with another powerful swing and got mobbed as he descended the dugout steps.

"Hey, that's my bodyguard!" Guillen shouted.

"We'll do it the same tomorrow," Uribe said. "You get hit twice, then boom!"

Uribe became the first Giant to drive in six runs in an inning since Jim Ray Hart, who had a three-run homer and a three-run triple in the fifth inning of a cycle game July 8, 1970, at Atlanta.

Bochy said he and the staff would discuss the lineup on the plane as they headed to Denver with hopes of delivering a knockout blow to the third-place Colorado Rockies. It will be hard to envision a change at the top with Fontenot and Sanchez, who had six hits between them.

Box Score

Giants' bats frustrate in Cubs' shutout

Henry Schulman
SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

The 2010 Giants will be remembered for great pitching and a feast-or-famine offense that is more famine than feast. It has been that way for 152 games and surely will stay that way for the final 10 and into the playoffs, if they get there.

How surprising can it be that the Giants followed a 1-0 victory against the Cubs with a 2-0 loss Wednesday night? After all, the Giants have thrown 15 shutouts and been shut out 16 times.

The loss dropped the Giants into second place with San Diego winning 3-1 in Los Angeles.

With Jonathan Sanchez pitching into the sixth and holding the Cubs to a Kosuke Fukudome homer and another unearned run, the Giants held an opponent to three or fewer runs for the 16th consecutive game, matching the 1972 Indians and 1981 A's for the longest streak since 1920, when the live ball was introduced.

Alas, the performance went to waste, and the Giants lost for the sixth time during the streak. For the fourth time in the last five games, they scored zero or one run.

"We're not going to score a lot of runs every time," Sanchez said philosophically. "We're probably going to come back tomorrow and score 10 runs."

Don't laugh. In their past two series finales, the Giants scored 10 and nine runs, against the Dodgers and Brewers, respectively.

On Wednesday, the Giants had no answer for right-hander Randy Wells, who came in with a 7-13 record and a history of being really good or really bad.

The Giants pummeled Wells in San Francisco last month for six earned runs in five innings. Pablo Sandoval tripled and homered, and Pat Burrell went deep twice, including a grand slam.

Different city, different story. This time, Wells pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings and departed after Cody Ross' two-out double in the eighth put two runners in scoring position. Closer Carlos Marmol then struck out Freddy Sanchez on the way to a four-out save.

At least some of the hitters understand what they are squandering

"I've never been on a pitching staff that keeps you in the game every day like this," Aubrey Huff said. "The worst start you have is two runs in seven innings. If you can't score two runs in the big leagues ... We had our Cy Young guy (Tim Lincecum) come out in the fifth inning in his last start (for a pinch-hitter) because we can't score any runs."

The Giants had a chance to punish Wells early when Freddy Sanchez doubled and Huff singled in the first inning. But the right-hander struck out Buster Posey and Burrell on seven pitches.

Jose Guillen's leadoff double in the second went for naught, too. Wells retired the next 13 Giants until Freddy Sanchez's one-out single in the sixth. Huff then rifled a ball into the glove of first baseman Xavier Nady, who stepped on first for the easy double play.

Manager Bruce Bochy said there "possibly" could be lineup changes for tonight's game. One potential benching is Sandoval, whose failures mount. He batted after Guillen's leadoff double in the second and could not advance him with a productive out. Sandoval was due to lead off the eighth, but Bochy had Mike Fontenot bat instead.

Sandoval had no trouble with the move, saying, "I didn't do anything, and we needed to get men on base. ... I feel great in batting practice. The point I get to is when there's men in scoring position, I try to drive them in three times in one at-bat. You have to make adjustments and think a little more."

Box Score

Buster Posey powers San Francisco Giants' 1-0 victory

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

This is how a Rookie of the Year award is won. But Buster Posey is aiming for so much more than that.

Posey delivered a complete performance in the eye of a playoff storm Tuesday night, catching four pitchers in a combined shutout, throwing out a runner at second base, and yes, dropping his home run over the ivy-covered wall in dead center that earned the Giants a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

The 23-year-old could become the Giants' first position player to win top rookie honors since Willie McCovey in 1959. But Posey would prefer another place in history.

No team with a rookie catcher has won a World Series since Joe Garagiola and the 1946 St. Louis Cardinals.

The best part: Posey doesn't just consider this a one-shot deal.

"You hear people say, 'You don't know how many opportunities you'll have to get into the playoffs.' I don't know if that's true," Posey said. "God willing, if we're healthy, I think we have the guys to be there for a lot of years to come."

Matt Cain is among them. He teamed with Posey to spot his fastball while holding the Cubs to two singles, one a check-swing roller, in six innings. But with Cubs right-hander Carlos Zambrano's lively fastball proving just as tough, Giants manager Bruce Bochy lifted Cain for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

"The bullpen makes that decision so much easier," said Bochy, who has watched his relievers post an impossibly small 0.59 ERA in 18 games this month.

Posey gave them the lead in the eighth. He anticipated a fastball from Andrew Cashner and a light breeze pushed it past the basket as center fielder Marlon Byrd watched it carry over his head.

Ramon Ramirez, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson retired all nine hitters they faced, and the Giants improved their position in two playoff races. They remained a half-game ahead of the San Diego Padres and widened the gap to 2 ½ games over the Colorado Rockies in the NL West. The Giants also are just a half-game behind the wild-card leading Atlanta Braves.

Braves right fielder Jason Heyward might have an advantage with some voters because Posey didn't debut until May 29. But Posey's candidacy is gaining ground.

"I can easily make the argument," said Wilson, after nailing down his 44th save. "Catchers have more responsibility than anybody on the field. We're asking a 23-year-old rookie to take that leadership role -- and it truly is a leadership role. On the teams I've been on, most guys who speak out are catchers.

"It doesn't matter that he hasn't been here the whole season. The fact he can go out there, keep the game tempo, hit the way he has, know everybody on the staff "... To me it's a no-brainer.

"Really, you're not doing much in the outfield or the infield. The game is from the mound to home plate. That's where the game is."

Posey owned his space Tuesday. He threw out rookie Starlin Castro trying to steal second base in the first inning. And when Cain had trouble getting over his off-speed pitches for strikes, the battery improvised by adding and subtracting off the fastball.

"To catch a shutout is probably as satisfying as anything," Posey said. "Cain was really, really, really good."

If riding a rookie catcher is rare in a pennant race, what about a rookie catcher who's also asked to bat cleanup?

Posey flied out with the bases loaded in the fifth. But his all-field approach served him well when he got in a fastball count against Cashner.

It was his 15th home run, the most by a Giants rookie since Chris Brown hit 16 in 1985. His 62 RBIs are the most since Chili Davis (76) in 1982. And Posey has seven game-winning RBIs.

Although Posey won't get enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, he's hitting .324 and his .522 slugging percentage would tie him for ninth in the NL.

"He's the guy you want up there with the game on the line," Bochy said. "But he's also such a good thrower and has done a great job handling this staff. I'm just so impressed with the growth of this kid. "... He doesn't panic."

Posey's patience has its limits, though.

"It's almost like you want to skip ahead to the last two or three games," Posey said. "You feel like it's going to come down to the end, whether it's us and San Diego or us and Colorado or whoever."

Box Score

Guillen slams Giants back into first place

Right fielder adds two-run single; Zito breaks losing streak

Cash Kruth
MLB.com
It was only a first-inning at-bat, but there was no doubt the outcome of Sunday's game rested on the shoulders of Jose Guillen.

The bases were loaded. The Giants were 0-for-their-last-11 with runners in scoring position. They had scored only one run in their past two games.

Simply put, the Giants needed something -- a bobbled ball, a seeing-eye single, anything -- to give them a spark.

Guillen delivered, rocketing a grand slam into the left-field stands and setting the tone in Sunday's 9-2 beatdown of the Brewers at AT&T Park.

"I guess Jose Guillen was the secret today," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of the difference Sunday compared to the series' first two games. "We had some good at-bats ... and kept the line moving today, which is what you need to win. The last thing we wanted to do was get swept here at home and the guys bounced back well."

The win, coupled with San Diego's 4-1 loss to St. Louis, gave the Giants a half-game lead over the Padres in the National League West. The Rockies, who entered play Sunday in third place, fell 1 1/2 games behind the Giants with an 11-inning, 7-6 loss to the Dodgers.

The Giants needed something to jump-start a lineup that almost had the wind taken out of its sails three pitches into the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Cody Ross drilled a 1-1 fastball deep into left field, which did, in fact, carry over the wall. But Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun had a bead on it the entire way, leaped at the wall and brought the ball back into the park with a snow-cone catch that will be remembered as one of the best of the season and one of the greatest at AT&T Park.

Ross and Bochy each called the catch one of the best they've ever seen. Even the AT&T Park crowd was impressed, as many of the 41,113 in attendance gave Braun a standing ovation for the catch, which he said was his best ever.

"It was right down the line. I didn't even think I was going to have a chance to get there, so I was pretty excited to come up with it," Braun said.

"I bobbled it a little bit, barely came up with it. I was definitely excited. You don't get too many opportunities to rob a home run."

Four batters later, Guillen hit Brewers starter Chris Narveson's 1-0 changeup where Braun had no chance to catch it.

"I'm officially a Giant now, huh?" said Guillen, who was acquired for his power but entered Sunday with only two homers and nine RBIs. "I finally did something that really counted when we really needed it."

Guillen also drove in two more in the fifth inning, following three straight walks with a single up the middle, and Pat Burrell added a three-run homer in the seventh inning for the final margin.

Just as exciting as the offense scoring nine runs was Guillen's performance. On Wednesday, the right fielder received an epidural shot for a bulging disk in his neck. Although Guillen shrugged when asked how much better he feels, saying he doesn't like to make excuses, Bochy said the difference is evident.

"Without question I think he's swinging freer," Bochy said. "It's been bothering him, but I think that's done a world of good for him. He feels a lot better, feels a lot stronger and looks a lot more comfortable up there."

Guillen's six RBIs were more than enough for Giants starter Barry Zito, who improved to an absurd 110-6 in his career when receiving at least four runs of support.

The win broke a career-high nine-decision losing streak for Zito (9-13, 3.98 ERA). The left-hander threw six strong innings, allowing two runs on three hits -- an infield single, a single through the left side and a sixth-inning, two-run homer by Braun. It was Zito's first win since July 16 vs. the Mets.

"The last couple games we lost as a team, but personally I felt a lot better than I had in my previous handful," Zito said. "[I was] just building off those."

Although the Giants have said throughout the past few weeks they're not scoreboard-watching during the game, that certainly isn't the case afterward. A host of players were gathered in the clubhouse dining room afterward watching the conclusion of Colorado's game, and cheers could be heard when the Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the ninth.

The Giants will continue to watch their division rivals, but know destiny is in their hands.

"From here on out we've got to [follow] the old cliche 'one game at a time,'" Ross said. "We're in control. It's ours to lose right now. We're in first place and we've got to keep playing the way we know how to, and today was a good day for us to start."

Box Score

San Francisco Giants fumble, bumble and tumble

Andrew Baggarly
Mercury News

The Giants have a high success rate in their gaudy orange home jerseys this season. But they were so bad in the field Friday night, you almost wondered if the manufacturer forgot to cut arm holes.

The Milwaukee Brewers benefited from all manner of juggles, skipped throws, bad decisions and shoddy plays in accepting a 3-0 win.

The Giants were just as pathetic at the plate against left-hander Randy Wolf, who twirled a three-hitter while completing his first shutout since 2008.

A day after moving into sole possession of the top spot in the NL West, the Giants didn't resemble a first-place club in any form. But at least they could enjoy the view for another day, courtesy of the San Diego Padres' loss at St. Louis.

A few more nights like this, though, and the Giants' flag won't stay atop the pole for long.

"We didn't play our best game tonight," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, mastering the art of understatement. "You'll have games when you're a little off. You can't get down. Just put it behind you."

The Giants and Brewers bring out the worst in each other. The Brewers couldn't do anything right July 5-8, kicking the ball around the diamond while the Giants swept four games at Miller Park. That series was a turning point for the Giants, who were one game over .500 when they stepped into the dairy state.

But it all turned sour Friday behind Madison Bumgarner, forcing the rookie to throw gobs of unnecessary pitches.

Before the game, Bochy said he and the staff have discussed ways to reduce the stress on his 21-year-old rookie, who is flying past his previous high for innings in a pro season.

This kind of game wasn't what Bochy had in mind.

The left-hander struggled to record the third out, surrendering seven of his nine hits with two away. And the Giants defense didn't help him finish innings, either.

"I felt I made some pretty good pitches when I had to," Bumgarner said. "They just found the holes and made it hard on us."

Prince Fielder's bloop single, which scored a run in the first inning, might have been catchable for some left fielders. But Pat Burrell lost it in the lights.

It got uglier. Third baseman Juan Uribe juggled a ground ball in the second inning, forcing Bumgarner to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam. Shortstop Edgar Renteria misplayed a soft one-hopper to heap more stress on Bumgarner in the fourth.

And the defense totally broke down after Ryan Braun's double led off the fifth inning. Second baseman Freddy Sanchez bounced a throw, and first baseman Aubrey Huff failed to scoop it as the Giants minimized Casey McGehee's potential double-play grounder.

Renteria made another mistake after fielding Carlos Gomez's grounder, throwing offline to the plate, even though he didn't have a very good shot at Braun. At least Renteria yanked his throw to the first-base side of the dish, saving catcher Buster Posey a needless collision.

The Brewers scored their third run in the seventh when left-hander Jeremy Affeldt couldn't make an accurate, 30-foot throw to the plate, skipping it past Posey as Gomez scored.

Bumgarner remained winless with a 4.76 ERA in eight career starts at home, a sharp contrast from his road performance, where he is 5-3 with a 1.98 ERA. But Bochy heaped praise on Bumgarner for keeping his composure while minimizing the damage. And with Wolf cruising, Bumgarner never had a shot to win, anyway.

Wolf had the second most walks in the NL, behind only Jonathan Sanchez. But the Giants didn't work deep counts, and Wolf got 27 outs on 111 pitches.

"I'm not taking anything away from the way he pitched, but we're much more capable of getting on base than we did tonight," Burrell said. "This time of year, you can't afford not to put pressure on other teams."

Box Score

Giants beat Dodgers to take over first place in NL West

Andrew Baggarly Mercury News

Jonathan Sanchez's bold guarantee in early August might have been premature, immature or just plain foolish.

But as of this moment, it isn't wholly inaccurate.

Sanchez promised the Giants would wrest first place from the San Diego Padres, and after he struck out a career-high 12 batters in a convincing, 10-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, that's exactly what they've done.

Combined with the Padres' loss at St. Louis, the Giants' victory gave them a half-game advantage in the NL West -- the first time they claimed sole possession of first place in September since 2003.

The rowdy crowd of 38,434 cheered while watching one final show -- the rearranging of the flags atop the right-field arcade, showing the current standings in the division.

Sanchez predicted the Giants' black banner would fly atop the pole a few weeks earlier, but the Padres beat him Aug. 13 and wrecked his crystal-ball visions of a sweep.

Sanchez isn't playing the fool now, though. He became the first Giants left-hander to strike out at least 12 without a walk since Atlee Hammaker in 1983. Since then, Jason Schmidt (once) and Tim Lincecum (three times) are the only other Giants to have an outing meeting those standards.

The Giants are 11-4 in Sanchez's starts since early July. And the left-hander is rolling with confidence.

"I've never been in the postseason. I've never celebrated," Sanchez said. "That's what I want. Postseason, too. We're better than just getting to the playoffs. We get there, I think we're going to be tough to beat."

Giants manager Bruce Bochy waited until the top of the eighth to take Sanchez out of the game, ensuring the pitcher would receive a sustained, standing ovation.

One outing after he pitched ultra carefully against the Padres while issuing seven walks, Sanchez knew he had the stuff to dominate the listless Dodgers.

"Anything I threw today was going to be good," he said.

New papa Aubrey Huff cracked a tiebreaking, three-run home run in the third inning, Buster Posey made it back-to-back shots, and Jose Guillen added a two-run drive deep into the left-field bleachers in the fifth as the Giants won their fifth consecutive series.

They also beat the Dodgers for the 10th time in 18 games, capturing the first season series from their archrivals since 2005. It was an impressive accomplishment, considering the Giants lost five of six to the Dodgers before the All-Star break.

"You've got to keep winning series," said Huff, whose wife gave birth to a son, Jagger, on Wednesday. "I haven't slept for two days. I didn't know how much I had in the tank, to be honest. Goes to show you sleep is overrated."

Sanchez, the object of so many offseason trade rumors, is looking untouchable in more ways than one. Despite making his career-high 30th start, Sanchez has a 0.52 ERA in his past three outings -- all Giants victories.

The opening moments weren't as promising. Rafael Furcal hit a leadoff double and scored when third baseman Juan Uribe fielded a sacrifice bunt and threw it into the stands.

But Sanchez retained his composure, and then some. He retired the next 12 hitters in order, striking out six as the Dodgers kept expanding the zone.

Sanchez didn't make it easy to lay off, mixing his splitter, slider and emerging changeup with a live-wire fastball that hitters always have a problem seeing out of his hand.

The Giants wiped out Sanchez's unearned run in the bottom of the first on Huff's triple and Posey's double. New leadoff man Edgar Renteria surprised the Dodgers with a bunt single to set up the big third inning as Huff and Posey cut their drives through fog that crept below the light standards.

The fog lifted in the late innings -- making those flags easy to see.

Box Score

Giants top Dodgers, pull within half-game of Padres

Henry Schulman SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

Manager Bruce Bochy has called Matt Cain a "horse" more times than he could count by clomping his foot on the ground. But the horseshoe fits. For the fourth consecutive season, Cain has surpassed 200 innings. No Giant had done that in more than three decades.

So many of those innings have been money, too, like the seven he threw Wednesday night. Cain kept the Dodgers off the board in a 2-1 victory that moved the Giants a half-game behind San Diego for first place in the West. They trail Atlanta by the same margin for the wild card.

"Invaluable," Bochy said of Cain (12-10). "A guy like that is so strong. He's a horse (clomp!). He's one guy I don't get concerned with pitch counts. He's in incredible shape. He's religious with his workouts. Tonight, he had great stuff. He ended the game with the same stuff he started with. You're lucky to have a guy like that."

Indeed, the Giants have ridden this steed deep into contention. The Giants have won 10 of Cain's past 12 starts, and this one rated a 9.9 on the difficulty scale because of whom he beat.

Cain and Chad Billingsley were locked in a scoreless joust until the bottom of the seventh, when Mike Fontenot hit a two-out RBI single for the Giants' first earned run against Billingsley in 30 1/3 innings.

Aubrey Huff doubled against George Sherrill to open the eighth and scored from third by beating second baseman Ryan Theriot's throw on a Pablo Sandoval groundball.

That run proved valuable when Andre Ethier homered against Brian Wilson with two outs in the ninth. As a consolation prize, Wilson blew a 98 mph fastball past Jay Gibbons on a full count to seal his 43rd save.

After three 1-0 games out of their past four, the Giants' 26th one-run win looked like a slugfest. Hey, this is the NL West, and this is not Coors Field. The run-challenged Giants figure to play a lot of these down the stretch.

"You get used to it," Bochy said. "I think the players are. It's invaluable experience to play these tight games, when every pitch, every at-bat means so much. Sure, you'd like it the other way, but that's our style. It's that slogan - Giants baseball: torture. That's the way we do things."

Cain reached 200 innings when Rafael Furcal popped out in the third. He became the fifth San Francisco pitcher to do it at least four years in a row, the first since Jim Barr, who had a five-year run from 1973 to 1977.

"That's a goal we all want, 200 innings, and you want more than the year before," Cain said. "To do that, you've obviously got to stay in the game a long time and throw strikes."

Cain stayed in long enough to watch Travis Ishikawa bat for him in the seventh inning of a 0-0 game and rap a double to right center for his first hit since Aug. 18. Eugenio Velez, getting a tryout at leadoff, hit a soft comebacker for the second out before Fontenot hit a busted-bat single into short center field to get pinch-runner Emmanuel Burriss home.

This pennant-race stuff is new to a lot of Giants, particularly home-grown players such as Ishikawa who debuted long after the team's most recent postseason appearance in 2003.

"This is way better than anything I've ever experienced on a baseball field," Ishikawa said. "I noticed it from the first inning on. Every out we got, every run we scored, the fans were so into it. I hope we do this for another two months or so."

Box Score

Giants heading home with a share of 1st

Henry Schulman SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

There were no animated high fives, fist pumps or joyous leaps after the Giants finished the Padres 6-1 on Sunday. The only chest bump came in the eighth inning, when Pablo Sandoval flattened catcher Yorvit Torrealba trying to score on a Juan Uribe single.

In contrast to the Padres' wild celebration Saturday, the Giants simply shook hands, dressed and headed for home after accomplishing more on a potentially perilous 10-game trip than anyone could have expected.

With Tim Lincecum turning his showdown against major-league ERA leader Mat Latos (he's now fourth) into a no-contest triumph, the Giants took three of four at Petco Park against a team that had owned them. They completed a 7-3 trip and restored a virtual tie with San Diego for the National League West lead.

The day could have been a real downer with news that leadoff hitter Andres Torres might be lost for the rest of the regular season after an appendectomy. It ended with Lincecum walking to the bus in a bowtie, which he learned to tie by watching a YouTube video, while singing a Buddy Holly tune.

Meanwhile, the Padres left town to face Colorado, which has won 10 in a row in its customary September charge.

If outsiders are surprised by the Giants' success on the trip and their place in the standings with three weeks left, insiders are not.

"Stuff in here doesn't change," reliever Sergio Romo said. "We always believed we were good. Our goal in spring training was to make the playoffs. Now we're in position to make it official."

Manager Bruce Bochy praised his players after they gained three games on San Diego while on the road.

"To me, this was a tough trip," he said. "To go 7-3 and be in a better position and gain some ground, that's what you want to do. The boys fought hard the whole trip, in three tough places. It's a credit to them how hard they fought to the core."

The fight continues Tuesday night when the Giants open a three-game series against Los Angeles at AT&T Park, where they will play 12 of their final 18 games.

More significantly, the Giants wade into the final three weeks with their rotation on a high. The starters statistically were the worst in the league during August. In September, they are the majors' best.

Lincecum embodies the turnaround. After allowing a run in seven innings Sunday, he is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in September - after going 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA in August. He struck out nine to reach 208 for the season, becoming the first Giant to have three consecutive 200-strikeout seasons since Juan Marichal had four (1963-66).

Buster Posey hit a two-run homer against Latos in the first inning, into the same box that Torrealba reached for the game's only run Saturday. Lincecum grabbed the two-run lead and ran with it.

"When you've got the team rolling behind me, scoring runs, you've got to take advantage of it," Lincecum said. "My confidence is at an all-time high, especially coming off the last month."

Lincecum quieted San Diego with a good fastball and what he termed his best-ever slider, which he threw with the aid of a tip from Matt Cain.

The Giants KO'd Latos after four innings in his second-worst start of the year. Lincecum delivered the coup de grace, a two-run single past third base after a Sandoval walk and Uribe double. Aubrey Huff launched two rallies with singles, and Jose Guillen had a sacrifice fly.

Box Score

Giants catch Padres with 1-0 victory

Henry Schulman SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

There is but one way to win a division, and that is any way possible.

The Giants moved into a virtual tie for first place in the National League West on Friday night not with their bats and not merely with their pitching, but on the legs of Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe.

These two big men burned the basepaths and helped the Giants break a scoreless tie without a hit in the seventh inning. Huff scored a run that stood up for a 1-0 victory, and for the first September in seven seasons, the Giants can say they sit atop the division.

"Phenomenal," Brian Wilson said after his fifth five-out save of the season and 42nd overall. Wilson then noted the accomplishment is meaningless unless the Giants keep rolling over their final 20 games, including the next two at Petco Park.

"This is what you prepare for in spring training," Wilson said. "If you're one of those guys who need a breather or a day off, go to bed early. You're going to have to suck it up and win from here on out."

The Giants, who had not been in first place since May 6, got their 80th win and ensured that they will leave San Diego no worse than two games back and could be as many as two games ahead in the West.

Jonathan Sanchez pitched five wild but scoreless innings. Completing the three-hit shutout were winner Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez, Sergio Romo, Javier Lopez and Wilson. Eli Whiteside made a huge contribution, ending the eighth inning by throwing out pinch-runner Everth Cabrera trying to steal second.

The Giants beat lefty Clayton Richard for the first time in five tries this year, not that he pitched poorly. On the contrary, he took a two-hit shutout into the seventh inning, then made his only crucial mistake, hitting Huff on the right elbow.

Huff hopped and danced in wrenching pain, but he assuaged fears that he was seriously hurt when he ran away from assistant trainer Mark Gruesbeck, who was chasing him. Huff made his own medical decision to run to first base.

"I just realized it was my funny bone; nothing was broken and we're good," Huff said. "I didn't want to 'Roger Dorn' it too much."

Huff could not have been in too much agony if he could pull that "Major League" reference out of his hat.

As Pat Burrell swung and missed at a 3-2 pitch from reliever Luke Gregerson, Huff stole second. When shortstop Miguel Tejada grabbed Jose Guillen's bouncer in the hole, Huff dashed for third, beat the throw and gave third-base coach Tim Flannery a loud, celebratory hand slap.

Huff said in hindsight it was a "dumb play" to run to third on a ball in front of him, but it worked.

Uribe hit a slow bouncer to third baseman Chase Headley, who threw to second baseman David Eckstein for the force. Eckstein, dealing with hard-charging pinch-runner Nate Schierholtz, could not complete the double play. As Uribe raced across first base, umpire Jerry Crawford extended his arms palms down: safe.

Ninety feet back, Huff was scoring the game's only run.

"That's hustle on their part," manager Bruce Bochy said of Huff and Uribe. "Those guys do a good job running the bases. They may not be the fastest guys, but they've got good instincts."

The game got weird late. The Giants blew opportunities to add insurance by failing to convert two-on, no-out situations in the eighth and ninth innings. The Giants' ninth ended when Wilson hit a comebacker that was ruled a home-to-first double play because Uribe, sliding into home, grabbed the leg of catcher Nick Hundley.

Bochy said Wilson was not supposed to swing. Wilson (presumably) joked he does not know the take sign. Bochy, with a hand in Wilson's wallet, plans to re-educate him.

Box Score

Giants go deep, pick up game on Padres

Andrew Baggarly Mercury News

Forget all those bloops and steals and dinks and dunks. The Giants weren't merely satisfied to beat the San Diego Padres at their own pesky little game Thursday night.

They went bigger, deeper and a heck of a lot louder while making their most important statement of the season, hitting four home runs to overpower the NL West leaders in a 7-3 victory at Petco Park in the opener of a four-game showdown.

Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Buster Posey and Pat Burrell brought out their heaviest lumber, hitting mostly mash jobs that were no-doubt homers even in the great plains of Petco.

It was just the 20th time in Petco Park's seven-year history that a team hit four home runs in a game. The Giants' previous high was three homers here, when Mark Sweeney, Ray Durham and Pedro Feliz cleared the fences June 30, 2006.

Matt Cain provided the other vital piece, a resolute effort from the mound, as the Giants moved within one game of the Padres (two back in the loss column) in the NL West. They also advanced within a game of the Atlanta Braves after the NL wild-card leaders lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Even if it was a statement game, the Giants clubhouse was filled with understatements afterward.

"Well-played game, well-pitched, the bats were there -- it's hard to play a better game," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, with a monotone that suggested a Sunday in mid-May. "Well, it's nice to get the first one. I've said this: There's baseball left after this."

Said Huff: "We've got to keep it rolling. If we win this one and lose the rest, it doesn't mean much."

One would think the Giants celebrated a little inside, though, while putting on a home run display that was both awesome and shocking, given their paltry average of 2.1 runs while losing nine of 11 to the Padres earlier this season. Of those tangles, 10 games were decided by three runs or fewer -- including seven one-run margins.

Before the game, Bochy was asked if he'd look to lay down more bunts and place a greater emphasis on manufacturing runs to match the Padres' slashing, opportunistic style.

"I'm not going to bunt Buster or Burrell or Uribe or (Jose) Guillen," Bochy said. "That's not how we're built."

Seeing how three of those guys homered, "large ball" was the way to go.

The Giants jumped on right-hander Jon Garland from the start, when Andres Torres tripled on the second pitch of the game and scored on the first of Freddy Sanchez's three hits.

Sanchez singled ahead of Huff's two-run shot in the third, which soared into the sandbox section in right-center field. Uribe sent another meteor into someone's sand castle with his solo shot in the fourth -- a most impressive feat of strength for a right-handed hitter. Posey cracked a two-run moon shot into the second deck of the left-field stands in the fifth.

And Burrell reached low-grade orbit when he greeted former Giants pitcher Kevin Correia to begin the sixth, hitting a high drive down the left-field line that smacked the bricks on the top story of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.

Didn't the Padres once proclaim this place Bonds-proof?

It was the kind of visiting performance that causes a home crowd to fall silent. But based on the cheers that accompanied each home run, there was a solid contingent of Giants fans in the stands, too.

"Yeah, there was," said Cain, who exited in the ninth to a standing ovation from fans above the Giants dugout. "It's a huge thing for them to be cheering us on the road and be able to hear these guys. That's always fun."

Cain (11-10) looks to have his boots laced for a march deep into October. He filled the strike zone while yielding just three hits and a walk in the first eight innings. But his bid for a complete game stalled in the ninth when David Eckstein hit a leadoff single and Ryan Ludwick followed with a two-run homer.

The Giants' two trade-deadline acquisitions, Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez, shut the door and allowed the Giants to rest closer Brian Wilson.

Sanchez didn't go deep, but he made a huge contribution. In addition to his three hits, the second baseman ranged far on the grass to take away two singles from Padres cleanup man Adrian Gonzalez -- the kind of plays the Padres had been making against the Giants all season.

The Giants solved that irksome issue by simply hitting them over the fence.

Box Score

Zito outdueled as Giants lose ground

Andrew Pentis
MLB.com
As the rotation's lone starter who won't pitch in the Giants' four-game series this weekend in San Diego, Barry Zito did all he could to send his club there coming off a win.

The lineup simply didn't comply.

Zito pitched six solid innings on Wednesday night, but because the D-backs' Daniel Hudson pitched seven better ones in Arizona's 3-1 win, Zito has now gone 10 starts without a win.

"I thought 'Z' threw the ball well," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He gave us a chance. We just couldn't get the bats going."

The Giants, still winners of six of their last eight, fell two games back of the Padres in the National League West and the same distance behind the Braves in the Wild Card race.

"We weren't under the allusion that we were going to win the rest of the games," said Bochy, whose club has 22 left on the schedule. "There's some baseball left here.

"No, it's not deflating. We've got to bounce back."

Which is precisely what Zito (8-12) appeared to do on Wednesday night, striking out seven and retiring 11 of the final 12 D-backs he faced before he was pinch-hit for in the top of the seventh.

"I felt loose out there and let the ball go; it was a lot better," said Zito, who has lost six straight starts and has tied a career-worst by dropping eight consecutive decisions.

He was on his way to looking like the Zito of August when he walked the first two batters he faced in the second inning and Miguel Montero plated one of them with a double into left-center field.

Zito's only other walk was intentional, but he did get hit around a bit before settling into a groove. Stephen Drew tripled over Andres Torres' outstretched glove and the center-field wall to lead off the third, and later scored on Kelly Johnson's single through the right side of the infield. That sequence gave Arizona a 2-1 advantage, and that was all it needed.

Freddy Sanchez had staked Zito to a 1-0 lead by lifting and curving a Hudson heater inside the left-field foul pole in the first. For Sanchez, who has five home runs in all of 2010, it was his second solo shot in three at-bats. On Tuesday night, he mashed a Barry Enright fastball to right field.

But the Giants were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position for the rest of the game.

"After Freddy hit the homer," said catcher and current cleanup man Buster Posey, "[Hudson] went with the changeup and the slider. He can pitch."

It was an 82-mph changeup that got Posey to harmlessly hit a chopper in front of home plate, stranding Zito, who singled and advanced to third base, in the third.

"My changeup was good," Hudson (6-2) said. "It was a little slower than normal and had more depth, and I was able to get some guys out in front of it and maybe get in on their hands right after that. It kept them off balance enough to get inside."

Another Giants hitter, faced with another opportunity to plate a teammate, fell victim to the changeup, too. Zito's pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh, Travis Ishikawa, grounded out softly down the first-base line on one of the 83-mph variety. That left Darren Ford standing on third base.

Bochy said he briefly considered pinch-hitting Pat Burrell instead of Ishikawa, who is mired in an 0-for-13 slide at the plate.

"Those are decisions, sure it didn't work out," he said. "I thought we had the right guy up there. He's had some big hits this year."

Burrell was left standing in the on-deck circle in the ninth when Cody Ross grounded out softly down the first-base line on a check swing, stranding Jose Guillen at second base.

Box Score

Tim Lincecum delivers for San Francisco Giants

Andrew Baggarly Mercury News

The Giants might be scoring more runs. They might be winning with late-inning heroics. They might be one confident step removed from two roads to the playoffs.

But there is no better confidence builder than the sight of Tim Lincecum whipping through his delivery, striking out another batter and briskly leading his team back into the dugout.

For the second consecutive start, Timmy was business-casual Timmy. And the Giants backed him with plenty of heavy hitting in a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday night.

"It's digging for something extra," said Lincecum, who took a perfect game into the fifth inning and a shutout into the seventh before allowing three runs. "It's time to get wins now. Obviously, we're close. That's my mindset: Put the rest of the season behind me and focus on what I can do."

An efficient Lincecum can do so much for the Giants, both between the lines and between the ears.

"Every playoff team has that guy you count on to shove (the opponent) every day, and it looks like he's getting back to that form," said Aubrey Huff, who hit a two-run home run in the first inning. "It's a great sign. Everybody was making such a big deal out of it when he was struggling. The guy's a two-time Cy Young, man. He's going to battle. It's a perfect time to get it going and carry us the rest of the way."

Lincecum (13-9) isn't the only pitcher carrying the baton. After six innings, the Giants had thrown 31 consecutive without allowing a run -- their longest scoreless streak since May 16-18, 1964.

Lincecum struck out 11, but here's the best barometer of his brilliance: he didn't walk a batter.

Want to know the last time that happened? Try the April 5 season opener at Houston. Also, his start was just the fourth of his career in which he struck out at least 10 without walking a batter; the last one came April 18, 2009, also against the Diamondbacks.

After going 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA in August, Lincecum has notched consecutive victories in September -- the first time he has done that since July 7 and 15.

"To me, he pitched as good as he's pitched," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "For six innings, it was pretty impressive. "... The ball was moving -- good stuff, good rhythm, threw quality strikes and threw strike one."

Bochy stayed away from using Brian Wilson, meeting after the game with his closer. Wilson had thrown on three consecutive days and five of seven.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres leaned hard on their closer, Heath Bell, to notch five outs and protect a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers that maintained their one-game lead in the NL West.

The Giants also stand just a game out in the wild-card standings behind the Atlanta Braves, who fell out of first place in the NL East.

Lincecum struck out the final hitter in each of the first three innings, a snappy and welcome departure from nights in which he labored through walks, deep counts and visible signs of frustration.

Bochy said he sensed the confidence spreading as Lincecum maintained his stuff and kept the game moving.

"With every starter, but especially with Timmy," Bochy said. "We kept saying he was getting better and better. Now he looks comfortable with where he's at."

So did the Giants lineup, which teed off on rookie Barry Enright. The right-hander had a 1.38 ERA in his first two starts against the Giants, but Huff said the club made a vital adjustment this time.

"The last couple times, he got ahead 0-1," Huff said. "You want to work the count and see pitches, but that hasn't been successful against him. We had a plan to go out and attack him and it worked out."

Andres Torres led off the game with a double, then one out later Huff followed with his first homer since Aug. 23. Freddy Sanchez hit a solo shot in the fifth and Pat Burrell added a two-run homer in the sixth.

Lincecum had trouble keeping the ball down in the seventh, when Chris Young hit a two-run shot and Tony Abreu's run-scoring triple brought Bochy to the mound. But Javier Lopez entered with a runner at third base and needed one pitch to get a tapper from Gerardo Parra.

Left-handers are 2 for 31 against Lopez since he arrived in a trade in July.

Box Score

Giants win in Arizona, creep closer to Padres

John Marshall Associated Press

With a runner on third base in the ninth inning, Buster Posey hit a flare to right field that was caught by a diving Gerardo Parra.

Two innings later, Posey and the Giants got a break.

Posey hit a two-out single to the same spot Parra robbed him earlier and Nate Schierholtz followed with a two-run triple, helping San Francisco inch closer to the NL West lead with a 2-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

"Off the bat, I thought it was going to be down," Posey said of the first ball he hit at Parra. "You kind of know when they're going to fall and he came out of nowhere to make a great catch."

Madison Bumgarner matched zeros with Arizona starter Ian Kennedy into the eighth inning and three Giants relievers combined to escape a jam after he left. Parra preserved the scoreless tie with his diving catch in the ninth, but San Francisco's Santiago Casilla (6-2) struck out the side in the 10th.

Aubrey Huff got the winning rally started with a two-out single off Aaron Heilman (5-7) in the 11th, then Posey followed with his dink single in front of Parra, whose dive came up just short this time. Schierholtz put San Francisco ahead with his triple to the right-center gap and Brian Wilson matched a career high with his 41st save in the bottom half, giving the Giants their sixth victory in eight games.

San Francisco pulled within a half-game of first-place San Diego, which entered Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on a 10-game losing streak.

"It's fun, especially since we're back in it now," Bumgarner said. "It's fun to come out here every day and everybody's excited to get to the park and compete."

Not everyone was able to enjoy it on a day hard liners and even bats seemed to be flying into the stands on nearly every at-bat.

The worst of it came when two kids were injured on consecutive at-bats in the fourth inning.

A 13-year-old boy, who was sitting just beyond the protective netting on the third-base side, was injured when Posey lost his bat swinging through a pitch by Kennedy. The boy was struck on the right side of the head and was carried off on a stretcher to a hospital.

Medical workers were still attending to him when Pablo Sandoval set a foul ball into the upper deck that struck a 2-year-old girl on the forehead. She also was taken to the hospital.

"Anytime that happens it is scary," Posey said. "Balls were flying in the dugout, bats in the stands, you have to be on your toes. I hope they're all right."

On the field, nobody could get to Kennedy or Bumgarner.

Kennedy was sharp for the fifth straight start, striking out six and retiring 14 of his final 15 batters.

The right-hander did a little work with his bat, too, leading off the eighth with his first career double. He was stranded at third after Javier Lopez struck out Kelly Johnson, and Ramon Ramirez got Chris Young on a fielder's choice to end the inning.

"I feel good right now. I was throwing a lot of strikes today," Kennedy said. "I didn't have a whole lot of strikeouts. I put the ball in play and let my defense do the work."

Bumgarner matched Kennedy almost pitch for pitch.

The left-hander struck out seven and twice got Adam LaRoche with two on and two outs: on a strikeout in the first inning and a fly ball to the warning track in right in the sixth. Bumgarner is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in three career starts against the Diamondbacks, but has just one win over his last eight starts this season.

"Everything was working for the most part today," Bumgarner said. "I didn't throw the cutter a lot, but the fastball velocity was good. Everything felt good."

Heilman felt good, too, but it didn't work out as well.

The former closer took the loss Saturday against Houston after Carlos Lee hit a three-run homer off him and made it two defeats in three days by giving up two soft singles and Schierholtz's hard-hit triple.

"I left one pitch up and it hurt me," Heilman said. "You are always one pitch from getting out of the inning and one pitch away from getting yourself in trouble. You go out there and try to make pitches the best you can, but unfortunately sometimes they don't go the way you want them to."

Notes: Giants SS Juan Uribe didn't play after fouling a pitch off his left shin Sunday against the Dodgers. ... Arizona RF B.J. Upton missed his fifth straight game with a strained left shoulder. ... The Giants have won five straight road games.

Box Score

Giants' win over Dodgers cuts deficit to one

Henry Schulman
SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle

It's on, boys and girls: four weeks and 25 games left with a single game separating the Giants from the reeling first-place Padres. Moreover, manager Bruce Bochy's boys seem to possess the swagger of a team that believes it can finish the job.

After San Diego lost its 10th in a row in the afternoon, the Giants beat the Dodgers 3-0 on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball," behind Jonathan Sanchez and another big Juan Uribe home run, to take their third consecutive series against Los Angeles and move their closest to the West lead since Aug. 7.

Bochy visited this spot many times with the Padres. He knows what it takes, and nobody has to remind him of the flaws that can derail his current team. He is adamant that the 2010 Giants have the character to take the division.

"I think they've already shown whatever you want to call it, tenacity or determination," Bochy said. "They've been resilient. This is a good group, a tough group. We have some guys who have been through it, and the guys who haven't are into it and having fun.

"It's going to get exciting here - and tense. That's why you play this game."

The Giants' 76th win was full of milestones.

With seven shutout innings, in which he allowed three hits, Sanchez beat the Dodgers for the first time in 10 career starts and reached 10 wins for the first time in the majors, two feats happily linked in his mind.

"I'm glad I got it against the Dodgers, the team I wanted to beat," Sanchez said. "Hopefully, I can get five more."

Sanchez threw first-pitch strikes to his first eight hitters and 19 of 25 overall, then gloated that Dodgers hitters were too passive because of his reputation for wildness. He walked one, hit a batter and struck out nine, including Matt Kemp three times.

Coupled with his eight-inning, one-run effort against Colorado a week ago, Sanchez has thrown quality starts (at least six innings, at most three earned runs) in consecutive games for the first time since April.

If you want to talk consecutive-game thunder, there is Uribe. One night after his game-winning homer in the ninth inning against Jonathan Broxton, Uribe busted open a 1-0 game in the seventh with a two-run shot down the left-field line against Hiroki Kuroda.

Uribe left an inning later because he slammed a foul ball off his left shin just before homering. As he was getting the leg taped later, a replay of his homer popped onto a clubhouse TV. Several coaches and players yelled at the screen, "No! Don't throw it there!" They all busted up as they watched Uribe crush the hanging slider.

Asked if he will play today, Uribe said, "I think so. I can't be hurt right now."

More milestones: Uribe's 19th homer gave him 75 RBIs, a career high. After Sergio Romo struck out two of his three hitters in the eighth, Brian Wilson pitched a perfect ninth to reach 40 saves for the second time in his career.

Pablo Sandoval had a fine game. He hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning for the first Giants run, doubled, and singled ahead of Uribe's homer.

Today, the Giants move to the second of three cities on this trip, Phoenix, where they swept a four-game series in July.

Sanchez will miss the Diamondbacks. He next pitches Friday night in the second of four games at San Diego. Any, um, predictions, Jonathan?

He laughed at the reporter's game attempt and said, "We're going to go there and try to beat them. Everywhere we go, we're going to try to beat everybody."

Box Score