Mercury News
The San Diego Padres aren't just opening the door for the Giants in the NL West. With their losing streak reaching nine games Saturday, the Padres are putting down the red carpet, plugging in the coffee urn and arranging a fancy tray of delectable edibles.
The Giants have failed to RSVP several times during the Padres' meltdown. But they didn't need an invitation Saturday night.
They knocked the door down with four home runs, all coming in the seventh inning or later, to rally from a four-run deficit and take a stunning 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers that will linger in memory.
With one out in the ninth, Juan Uribe hit a two-run shot off Jonathan Broxton that silenced the crowd at Chavez Ravine and turned his own dugout into a mosh pit.
The loud drive into the left-field pavilion gave the Giants a one-run lead and completed a comeback that began with Buster Posey's solo home run in the seventh off left-hander Ted Lilly.
"It's funny to see guys who've been in this league 10 years, 30 or 35 years old, jumping around like little kids," Posey said.
The rookie catcher has a thing to learn about these dugout celebrations, though. He slipped and fell down the stairs and sheepishly said he wasn't pushed.
"I'm all right," he said.
The Giants own 33 comeback victories this season, and Saturday's was the third in which they erased a four-run deficit. But nobody saw this stirring end coming -- especially after Lilly held the Giants without a hit from Aaron Rowand's game-opening double to Posey's homer in the seventh. Uribe was in a 2-for-22 slump before Cody Ross beat out an infield single and Broxton left a 1-0 slider over the plate. "It never gets old, man," veteran outfielder Pat Burrell said. "Winning never does, especially when dramatic stuff like that happens." Burrell had his own act in the drama. His third career pinch homer came against Octavio Dotel in the eighth, and it followed a leadoff shot from Edgar Renteria that chased Lilly. Renteria, playing for the first time since Aug. 10, sneaked his drive just inside the left-field pole. And Ross, whose hyperactivity is a handy thing to have in a pennant race, sprinted down the line in the ninth on his ground ball to short to bring Uribe to the plate. "I got chills running around the bases," Ross said. "I couldn't wait for him to get home so I could give him a double high-five." Uribe got pummeled even worse once he reached the dugout. "Punch your teammate in the chest. It's pretty exciting," first baseman Aubrey Huff said, grinning. "It was kind of dead in the dugout there, but it almost felt like Uribe was going to hit a home run. Cody beat out an infield hit, just set it up perfectly. "Uribe, man, it seems every home run he's hit has been late in games and big. For sure, he's won five or six games for us like that." Brian Wilson put runners at the corners with one out but escaped to record his NL-leading 39th save as the Giants moved within two games of the Padres and also remained three behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card standings. Giants manager Bruce Bochy once lost a game in this ballpark as the Padres' manager when the Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs. He enjoyed being on the other end. "I tell you, that's right up there," Bochy said. "Cody, he got us going by hustling down the line. It's hard to get a bigger win at this stage. "No question, we've been struggling offensively. We ran into another well-pitched game. But we kept it close. You give Matt a lot of credit for settling down." That would be Matt Cain, who allowed a three-run homer to Jay Gibbons in a four-run fourth inning but was entrusted to hit for himself in the fifth -- something Bochy didn't do for Barry Zito a night earlier. The right-hander rewarded his manager with three more scoreless innings. "You can't just fold," Cain said. "Today is definitely a reason why." In the end, the Giants came knocking. "Hopefully we do look back (on this game)," Bochy said. "You're hoping some games will spur you on and build momentum."
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