‘75 GIANTS SWEEP 3 FROM PADRES

GAME 1 - Giants 5, Padres 4
The Giants and Padres went back and forth with each other until Gary Matthews' two-out, walk-off RBI single lifted San Francisco to its third consecutive win. Losing pitcher Rich Rodriguez walked two batters in the ninth after two were out. Matthews then ripped a belt-high fastball past the diving Tim Tuefel, sending San Diego to its fifth defeat in six games.

Neither starting pitcher fared well but did keep their teams in the game. San Diego's Frank Seminara took a 4-3 lead to the sixth before Gary Thomasson's pinch-hit homer tied the game. Seminara left after seven innings, allowing 10 hits and four runs. Giants starter Mike Caldwell allowed four runs and six hits in six innings of work but could not hold le ads of 2-0 and 3-2.

The Giants opened the scoring with a pair of runs with four singles in the first. San Diego answered back quickly, tying the game on Darrin Jackson's two-run HR in the second. San Francisco went ahead 3-2 in the fifth as Derrell Thomas walked, stole second and later scored on Willie Montanez' sacrifice fly. San Diego again fired back fast in the sixth on doubles by Gary Sheffield and Fred McGriff followed by Jackson's RBI triple. The loaded the bases with  one out but were foiled when Caldwell induced a 6-4-3 double play from Jerald Clark.

Matthews finished with three hits in San Francisco's 11-hit attack. Montanez and Chris Speier added two hits apiece. Jackson continued his tear against KOD pitching, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. The SD centerfielder (homer, double triple) needed just a single for the cycle. Charlie Williams provided three innings of yeoman work in relief, throwing 59 pitches to gain his first win of the season.

GAME 2 - Giants 4, Padres 3
Another ninth-inning come-from-behind victory for the Giants, this one a bit more dramatic.

Trailing 3-0 and facing Nasty Boy Randy Myers, the Giants show no mercy for the struggling Padre closer. Myers retired
two of the first three hitters he faced in the ninth but couldn't retire another batter after that. Three singles, two walks and a wild pitch later, San Francisco celebrated another walkoff victory after Jack Clark's bases-loaded single ended the game. Myers was tagged with the loss and his second blown save, allowing four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning as his ERA ballooned to 12.27.

This after starting pitcher Craig Lefferts and reliever Mike Maddux set-up San Diego perfectly for the win with eight scoreless innings of work. The Padre duo silenced SF on two singles and didn't allow a walk. The Padres eeked out a run in the third off Giants starter John Montefusco with a pair of walks. In the eighth, San Diego made it 3-0 as Fred McGriff and and Darrin Jackson walloped back-to-back homers. Outside of that, Montefusco was on his game, finishing with 5 Ks and permitting just six hits in eight innings, easily his best effort of the season. Winning pitcher Dave Heaverlo (2-0) was the beneficiary of San Francisco's last-inning heroics after hurling a scoreless ninth.

GAME 3 - Giants 5, Padres 2
Jim Barr goes the distance, allowing seven hits and two unearned runs as the Giants move to 7-5 for the season. San Francisco broke a 1-1 tie with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. The Giants added two more in the seventh, more than enough for Barr, who could have had a shutout if not for a passed ball and error, which led to the Padres only runs. Derrell Thomas delivered three hits for the Giants, including a first-inning triple to help SF take a 1-0 lead. Padre starter Andy Benes suffered his second loss, allowing 8 hits and five runs in 6 1/3 innings.
The Giants banged out 10 more hits, raising their team batting average to .279, second-best in the National league. The Padres, who fell to 2-10, have a team ERA of 2.80 but are dead last in batting at .227 and have a 1-6
mark in one-run games

--Submitted by Ron Leone--