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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The only hitter in San Francisco's lineup with
any knowledge of Adam Eaton ended up ruining the rookie's perfect
game bid.
|  | | Rookie Adam Eaton flirted with perfection into the sixth inning. Had he succeeded, he would have been the first Padre to toss a no-hitter. |
Bobby Estalella, teammates with Eaton in the Philadelphia
Phillies' minor league system, hit a solo homer with one out in the
sixth inning to break up Eaton's perfect game, and the Giants went
on to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.
Estalella hammered an 0-1 fastball into the left-field stands
for his 11th homer, and Marvin Benard followed one out later with a
solo home run, his ninth.
"I'm just trying to break up the perfect game," Estalella
said. "I wasn't thinking home run there."
The victory moved San Francisco into first place in the NL West
by two percentage points over Arizona, which lost 8-4 at St. Louis.
Eaton, 22, retired the first 16 Giants he faced before
Estalella's homer.
"I had things going early," Eaton said. "I gave up the home
run and then things kind of snowballed and I gave up another home
run."
Shawn Estes (10-3), overshadowed early by Eaton, outpitched his
counterpart as he allowed one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
The only run he gave up was Ruben Rivera's first-inning homer, his
12th of the season. The left-hander struck out one and walked six.
Robb Nen pitched the ninth for his 24th save in 29 chances.
"I knew there was no room for error," Estes said. "When
you're down 1-0 and (Eaton) is throwing a game as good as that, you
have to be good."
Eaton (2-2) allowed three runs on five hits in seven innings,
struck out five and walked two.
"It was neat to watch him work," Padres manager Bruce Bochy
said. "He was perfect until the one mistake there. That might have
messed up his concentration a little bit."
Estalella caught Eaton in a handful of games when they were
teammates briefly last season at Class A Clearwater and Triple-A
Scranton. Both were traded from the Phillies' organization in
offseason deals.
"He's definitely a lot better pitcher than he was before,"
Estalella said. "He has a lot more composure and confidence."
Benard also contributed with a diving, inning-ending backhanded
catch on Damian Jackson's sinking fly ball in shallow center with Bret Boone on second base in the sixth.
"I'm more excited about the catch," Benard explained. "The
ball just kept hanging out there. At the last minute I decided to
dive."
San Francisco added its final run in the seventh after loading
the bases with no outs on a walk and two singles. Rich Aurilia then
hit into a double play that scored J.T. Snow.
San Diego remains one of five teams that have never thrown a no-hitter.
Eaton was making his 11th major league start since being
recalled from Double-A Mobile on May 30. Eaton held Oakland without
a hit through 5 1-3 innings of his second big league start June 5,
but left in the seventh with a no-decision in a 3-2 loss in 10
innings.
Game notes
Padres starting pitcher Woody Williams, the winner Tuesday
night, pinch hit in the seventh for Eaton. Williams, who had four
consecutive hits in his last two starts, fouled out to 3B Bill
Mueller on a 3-2 count. ... The Mets, Rockies, Diamondbacks and
Devil Rays are the only other teams without a no-hitter. ... Giants
LF Barry Bonds was held out of the lineup. Manager Dusty Baker
wanted to give Bonds and his struggling bat a day off as the club
heads into the final one-third of the season. ... Padres RHP Steve
Montgomery will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a partial tear
of his right rotator cuff. Montgomery, the eighth Padres player to
undergo surgery since the start of the season, was 0-2 with a 7.94
ERA in seven games. ... Tony Gwynn presented pro tennis player
Alexandra Stevenson with a bat he used during the 1998 World Series
before the game. Gwynn was following through on a promise he made
to give Stevenson a game bat if she defeated a Top 20 player.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
San Diego Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 8
Cleveland 1
Minnesota 0
Boston 0
Kansas City 7
Chi. White Sox 6
Oakland 6
Seattle 1
NY Yankees 4
Baltimore 1
Tampa Bay 6
Detroit 2
Texas 6
Anaheim 5
Houston 3
Cincinnati 2
Pittsburgh 5
Milwaukee 4
Montreal 0
NY Mets 0
Chicago Cubs 14
Philadelphia 9
Atlanta 6
Florida 3
St. Louis 8
Arizona 4
Colorado 11
Los Angeles 4
San Francisco 3
San Diego 1
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