Seven runs before the Giants woke up
The San Diego Padres scored seven times in three innings at Oracle Park on Friday night, then spent the next six protecting the lead. The 7-5 win was their fifth in a row.
Most of the damage came from the bottom of the order. Dustin Harris and Freddy Fermin, batting eighth and ninth, combined for four hits and four RBIs. Harris singled in a run in the second and tripled in another during the third. Fermin doubled in a run in each of those innings. Xander Bogaerts produced the biggest swing of the five-run third, a two-run double, and Jackson Merrill added a double and two singles.
Giants starter Anthony Molina (3-1) lasted three innings and was charged with seven runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out four.
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Devers brings San Francisco back, briefly
Rafael Devers answered in the fifth with a grand slam off Robbie Ray, his 36th home run of the season, and the gap closed to 7-5. Neither side scored again.
Yunior Marte gave the Giants five shutout innings of relief after that. Ray (12-8) went five in his return to San Francisco, charged with five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out five, and handed the game to a bullpen that gave up nothing. Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez each threw a scoreless inning. Rodriguez worked around a leadoff double by Bryce Eldridge in the eighth with help from two successful challenges by Fermin that turned balls into strikeouts.
Mason Miller loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth before striking out Eldridge to record his 35th save.
Half a game, with 15 left
San Diego moved to 79-68 and stayed half a game clear of Arizona (79-69) for the last National League wild-card place. Five straight wins have turned a drifting September into a race the Padres still control with 15 games to play.
The visitors finished with 12 hits, five doubles and two triples. Harris and Merrill scored twice apiece.
San Francisco dropped to 62-86 after arriving off a three-game home sweep of St. Louis. Eldridge and Jonah Cox had two hits each, and Cox scored twice.
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