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Well, that wasn't an ideal start to the series. A two run lead slipped away as Madison Bumgarner pulled himself together. Meanwhile, Jason Marquis and Luke Gregerson fell apart.
The first inning was fantastic. Marquis retired the Giants in order on just seven pitches, and then Bumgarner gave up two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Chris Denorfia and Chase Headley picked up back to back singles. Then Carlos Quentin drove in the first run with a double. After Bumgarner intentionally walked Jesus Guzman (without throwing behind him), Will Venable drove in the second run of the game. And then Bumgarner retired the next 15 batters in order.
Marquis didn't fare quite so well. He gave up a leadoff home run to Pablo Sandoval in the fourth inning. He avoided more damage until the fifth, but control issues got the better of him then. With one out, he walked Sandoval, then gave up a single to Hunter Pence, gave up another walk to Brandon Belt, and finally gave up an RBI single to Kensuke Tanaka. With the game tied and the bases still loaded, he was pulled from the game. Joe Thatcher and Dale Thayer retired the next two batters to keep the Padres in the game.
After a scoreless seventh inning, Gregerson took the mound in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff single to Tanaka before hitting pinch hitter Tony Abreu. Then Gregor Blanco hit a ground rule double to score the go ahead run. It looked like that might be the end of the inning when Abreu got caught in a pickle between third and home on the next play, but Buster Posey hit a two out single to increase the Giants' lead to two.
The pitching and hitting were both incredibly frustrating tonight. I can guarantee tomorrow will be better, though. It's PCL throwback night, and our own Bobby Cressey will be on hand to play some era-appropriate tunes on the organ. San Diego native Sean O'Sullivan will be making his first start with the team against former Padre and emergency room groper Chad Gaudin at 7:10 PM. The first 25,000 fans in attendance will get a sweet fedora (which you should not wear in a dating site profile picture unless you look like Matt Bomer).
Roll Call
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