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The
San Francisco Giants
have surged their way back into first place in the National League West thanks to their longest winning streak of the season.
They try to keep it going and extend their lead when they wrap up a four-game series with the
San Diego Padres
at AT&T Park.
The Giants (51-47) won their fifth straight game on Saturday, beating the Padres 4-3 and moving a half-game ahead of San Diego
for the top spot in the division. San Francisco, in first place for the first time since April 26, had not won five in a row
since Sept. 16-21 last season and has not won six straight since Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2005.
Shea Hillenbrand
singled and scored a run on Saturday night in his first game after being acquired from Toronto. Hillenbrand had been designated
for assignment following a clash with Toronto management and manager
John Gibbons
.
He batted sixth and started at first base, where he will likely play regularly for San Francisco.
Barry Bonds
returned to the Giants lineup after being hit by a pitch in the left leg and leaving Friday's game. He went 1-for-3 with a
single and an intentional walk.
''It's fine,'' Bonds said of his left knee. ''I can't complain.''
Moises Alou
went 2-for-3 before leaving the game with a strained left hamstring. He is scheduled to be re-evaluated Sunday and manager
Felipe Alou
, his father, expects him to miss several games.
The Padres (50-47) have dropped four in a row for the fourth time this season. They lost a season-high five straight April
24-29.
''It's going to be a tight race,'' manager
Bruce Bochy
said. ''We've got to stop what we're in right now.''
Mike Cameron
hit a solo home run for San Diego, and
Adrian Gonzalez
went 3-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Gonzalez is hitting .444 (24-for-54) with seven homers and 17 RBIs
during the run.
The Padres have also dropped five straight meetings with the Giants after winning five of the first six games in the season
series.
Clay Hensley
(6-7, 4.61 ERA) will look to help San Diego salvage a win in the series finale. He gave up two runs and four hits - including
two homers - in six innings of Tuesday's 10-6 win over the
Philadelphia Phillies
.
Hensley bounced back nicely from a pair of rough outings - on July 14 he took the loss in one inning of relief in the Padres'
11-inning, 15-12 defeat to the
Atlanta Braves
, and in a July 9 start he allowed a career-high seven runs in five innings without receiving a decision in San Diego's 10-9
win at Washington.
Hensley has made three career relief appearances against the Giants, going 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 6 2-3 innings.
San Francisco will counter with
Jamey Wright
(6-8, 4.95), who allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings of Tuesday's 4-3 win over the
Milwaukee Brewers
. The victory, Wright's first since May 22, snapped an eight-start winless stretch during which he went 0-5 with a 6.70 ERA.
Wright is 3-6 with a 5.79 ERA in 17 career starts against the Padres.
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