RECAP: Padres 7, Giants 6
- Updated: March 7, 2015
(image via @guidice)
James Shields made his much-anticipated debut with the San Diego Padres Saturday and threw a scoreless inning against the San Francisco Giants as timely hitting withstood a late Giants rally to seal a 7-6 Padres victory.
Wil Myers hit a solo home run in the fourth inning off Tim Lincecum, Will Middlebrooks went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, and Alexi Amarista was 1-for-2 with a two-RBI double to lead the way on offense for the Padres.
Yangervis Solarte was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Derek Norris went 1-for-4 and caught six innings before being replaced by Austin Hedges.
Following Shields on the hill for the Padres, Marcos Mateo threw a scoreless inning, Matt Wisler allowed one run on one hit and a walk across two frames, and Chris Rearick threw a perfect inning as the Padres found themselves ahead 6-1 after five and a half innings.
But momentum changed starting in the bottom of the sixth, as the Giants scored one-off Frank Garces, another off Tayron Guerrero in the seventh, and two more against minor league reliever Jay Jackson in the eighth to close the gap to 6-5 heading into the ninth inning.
In the ninth, Rymer Liriano hit a two-out solo home run to give the Padres a cushion and make the game 7-5 heading to the final half inning.
The cushion turned out to be important, as left-hander Scott Elbert came on for the Padres to close the game, and allowed a run on a hit and a walk, but eventually induced a popout and two strikeouts to seal the 7-6 victory.
Madison Bumgarner started for the Giants, and allowed two runs on four hits across two innings. Lincecum, who gave up a home run and a double in relief, also allowed two runs in two innings, but did strike out five hitters, as well.
The Padres return home to face the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon.
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