Giants Win, Inch To 6 Back of D'backs
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Rookies Brett Pill and Eric Surkamp had a night to remember, even as their San Francisco Giants are trying desperately to catch the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Pill hit a two-run homer in his first big league at-bat, Surkamp earned his first major league win and the Giants had to escape a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning to beat the San Diego Padres 6-4 on Tuesday night.
The defending World Series champion Giants pulled within six games of NL West-leading Arizona with 20 to go. The Diamondbacks lost 8-3 at Colorado. By winning the first two of this three-game set, the Giants clinched their first series victory since Aug. 12-14 at Florida.
With Mark DeRosa aboard on a leadoff single in the second, Pill hit an 0-1 pitch from lefty Wade LeBlanc (2-5) that caromed off the balcony of the third level of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner at Petco Park and back onto the field. Padres left fielder Kyle Blanks tossed it into the stands, where a man grabbed it. Padres event operations supervisor Rob Arnold negotiated with the fan to get the ball for Pill.
"Luckily he threw it right to some Giants fans," said Pill, who gave the fan a few signed balls in return for the home run ball.
"It's something you dream about when you're a kid," Pill said. "I've seen him a few times in the minors, that pitcher, and figured he'd try to throw me a changeup and get me to hit into a double play. He left it up a little bit. When I hit it I kind of knew it was gone, but it was probably the fastest I've ran around the bases in a while. It's just a great feeling."
It was the first time a Giants player homered in his first big league plate appearance since Will Clark did so off Houston's Nolan Ryan on April 8, 1986.
Surkamp (1-0) allowed three runs and five hits in five innings, struck out two and walked one.
"It's fun," Surkamp said. "I'm up here, I'm new, it's awesome."
With the Giants leading 6-3, Javier Lopez walked Orlando Hudson on four pitches to open the Padres' ninth. Santiago Casilla came on and got two outs before allowing rookie Anthony Rizzo's RBI double off the right-field wall. Casilla hit Cameron Maybin on the right elbow and hit Jason Bartlett on the left hand to load the bases. Bochy turned to Ramon Ramirez, the sixth Giants' reliever, who struck out Jesus Guzman for his fourth save in five chances.
Carlos Beltran had three hits and three RBIs for the Giants, who won with three prospects in their starting lineup. Pill's contract was purchased last Wednesday from Triple-A Fresno. Surkamp, called up from Double-A Richmond on Aug. 27, made his second big league start. Justin Christian started in center field and batted leadoff after his contract was purchased from Fresno on Tuesday. Christian appeared in 24 games with the New York Yankees in 2008.
Pill, who led the Pacific Coast League with 167 hits, started at first base.
Beltran, back after missing Monday's game with food poisoning, hit an RBI single in the third, an RBI double in the fifth and brought in a run with a grounder in the ninth.
