Giants edge Padres; teams now separated by a percentage point

On Aug. 25, the San Diego Padres had a 6 1/2-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West. Today, that lead is down to a single percentage point.
The Giants pulled almost even with a 1-0 victory Friday at San Diego's nfl jersey
Petco Park. San Francisco (80-62) has a .563 winning percentage; the Padres (79-61) are at .564, with two games remaining in the teams' four-game weekend series.
Jonathan Sanchez(notes) and five relievers combined on a three-hit shutout Friday. Juan Uribe(notes) drove in the game's only run with a fielder's choice grounder in the seventh inning.
"That's what we play all year for, the grind, all the stuff you go through all year long. It's what you wait for, to be within striking distance at the end of the year," Huff told reporters. "That's where we are. We've got a lot of ball left, though. We haven't won anything yet."
On the other side, the Padres are trying to stay Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
positive.
"We are fortunate to be where we are at right now with the way we have played the past three weeks," losing pitcher Clayton Richard(notes) said. "You have to look at it that we are still in first and we have played pretty poorly in the past three weeks." A 10-game losing streak in late August and early September eroded most of the Padres' division lead.
Huff's "dumb" baserunning, as he put it, turned out to be the key to the game. With one out in the seventh, he decided to advance to third base on Jose Guillen's(notes) ground ball to shortstop Miguel Tejada(notes). After looking toward first base, Tejada threw to third, but Huff slid in ahead of third baseman Chase Headley's(notes) tag. Huff then scored as pinch runner Nate Schierholtz(notes) was forced on Uribe's grounder to third.
"The way (Guillen) hit it, from the angle I was at, it looked like it was going to go in the hole anyway. … It's not a smart play, but it worked out," Huff told reporters.
Huff's charge surprised Tejada.
"In that situation, when somebody is at second, you never Dallas Cowboys jersey
go to third on that ball," Tejada told reporters. "In that situation it's a long throw to go to first. I made the decision to go to third. At that time, I think that's the best play. It is bad baserunning for him. He just got lucky. It was good hustle, too."