The San Francisco Giants defeated San Diego 7-3 to move within one game of the Padres in the battle for the National League West division title yesterday.
In the opener of a critical four-game series between the contenders, the Giants belted four home runs to support starter Matt Cain, who pitched eight innings for the win.
Cain struck out eight batters and had limited San Diego to just three hits before allowing a single then a two-run home run to Ryan Ludwick in the ninth inning.
PHOTO: EPA
The right-hander left the game in the ninth and improved to 11-10.
“We’ve had some bad times against these guys, so to win the first one is definitely big for us,” Cain told reporters after getting an ovation from some of the traveling Giants fans. “To be able to hear those guys on the road is definitely fun.”
San Francisco jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the third inning where Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer and the visitors surged ahead 7-1 after adding blasts in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
Freddy Sanchez and Huff finished with three hits each for the Giants, who won for the fifth time in six games.
“They have an unbelievable lineup over there, especially with some of the moves that they’ve made,” said Padres starter Jon Garland (13-11), who surrendered six runs and eight hits in five innings. “They’re hungry. They haven’t been to the playoffs in a long time.”
Two weeks ago, the Padres (79-60) held a comfortable division lead, but have since suffered a 10-game losing streak to put the pursuing Giants (79-62) right back in the race.
Astros 3, Dodgers 2
In Houston, rookie Chris Johnson hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning as the Astros rallied to get the victory.
Johnson, who struck out in his first two at-bats, drove a full-count pitch from Ted Lilly (8-10) to the train tracks in left field for his eighth homer, erasing a two-run deficit. Hunter Pence singled to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and Carlos Lee walked to set up Johnson’s one-out drive.
Bud Norris (7-8) struck out seven in six innings for Houston, which has won three straight.
In other NL action, it was:
• Cardinals 11, Braves 4
• Rockies 6, Reds 5
AP, DETROIT, michigan
Johnny Damon had a season-high four hits as the Detroit Tigers beat Chicago 6-3 to hand the White Sox their third straight loss.
The White Sox (77-63) fell six games behind idle Minnesota in the AL Central, their largest deficit since June 17.
Rick Porcello (9-11) gave up three runs and four hits in eight innings to win his fourth straight start. Ryan Perry pitched the ninth for his second save.
Gavin Floyd (10-12) allowed six runs over six innings. He gave up 13 hits, all of them singles.
Alex Rios hit a two-run homer for Chicago in the fourth. Ryan Raburn and Jhonny Peralta each had two RBIs.
In the other AL game, it was:
• Rangers 4, Blue Jays 2
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