San Francisco Giants @ San Diego Padres (game 1)

Thursday evening was the first game in a crucial four game series between the Giants and the Padres.  The Padres come in with a 2-game lead in the NL West race.

An excellent view of the action from my seat

Torres got the top of the 1st off to a good start with a triple, scoring later on Sanchez's single. The Giants' pitcher, Matt Cain, doesn't often seem to get much run support, so this was an encouraging start.  It got better in the third, when Aubrey Huff hit a ball out to centre, over the 400ft sign, with a runner on base.  Despite Will Venable getting one back in the bottom of the 3rd, Uribe hit a solo shot, then Buster Posey - a rookie of the year candidate, who'll garner more votes if he hits more 2-run shots like that - in the 5th, and then Pat Burrell clobbered one off the top of the Western Metal Supply Co building.

In fact, San Francisco should have been a lot further ahead, but the Pades got 3 double plays in the early innings (two by Pablo Sandoval) which erased a number of their baserunners.

Meanwhile, Matt Cain was busy working on 3-hitter until he tired in the 9th and the Padres got a couple of runs back.  It was good to see Bruce Bochy allowing him the chance to go out and finish it - Cain had only thrown 108 pitches through 8, so had a great chance of the complete game.  His line finished as 8+IP, 3ER, 5H, as the bullpet shut it all down and sealed the win.

I nearly got a ball today - but from the Padres mascot, rather than a foul ball hit by a player.

The Swinging Friar - mascot of the Padres - on top of the San Diego dugout

It got quite chilly in the late innings - reminiscent of San Francisco, in fact!