Sep 16, 2007, 5:26 GMT
San Diego, CA - Brett Tomko threw six shutout innings in his first start for the Padres, as they maintained their slim advantage in the wild card standings with a 6-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Mike Cameron hit a two-run homer, and Adrian Gonzalez had three hits and scored twice for San Diego, which maintained a 1 1/2 game lead over Los Angeles and Philadelphia for the National League wild card spot.
Geoff Blum had two hits and scored twice for the Padres, who will try for the three-game series sweep Sunday.
Tomko (3-11), who was let go by the Dodgers to make room for former Padre David Wells, allowed four hits and struck out five. It was his first win since July 15, at San Francisco.
'From where I was 3 1/2 weeks ago and how I felt I was throwing the ball, it's a complete turnaround,' Tomko said. 'To help the team in the heat of a pennant race, with the Dodgers already winning earlier today, it was a big game for us.'
Doug Brocail, Joe Thatcher, Heath Bell and Justin Hampson finished the six-hit blanking, the major league-best 19th for the Padres this season.
'He pitched well,' Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of Tomko. 'Nothing but zeroes up there. He did a good job.'
Barry Bonds suffered a strained right big toe and left the game in the third inning for the Giants, who have lost three in a row overall and seven straight to the Padres. X-rays taken were negative and Bonds is likely to miss the next two or three games.
Matt Cain (7-15) allowed just one hit and a run while fanning six over six innings for the Giants. He fell to 0-3 against the Padres this season.
Baseball's career home run leader hurt his toe trying to make a play on a fly ball by Gonzalez at the wall in left field in the second inning. A fan appeared to interfere with Bonds' chance for a catch. Bonds landed on his right leg.
Gonzalez tripled on the play and scored on Khalil Greene's sacrifice fly for the first run.
The Giants loaded the bases in the seventh, but Thatcher got pinch-hitter Guillermo Rodriguez to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Padres padded their lead in the bottom half against Randy Messenger and Scott Munter. Blum doubled to start the inning, and Cameron homered to left- center. Gonzalez then singled and Green doubled, before Kevin Kouzmanoff was intentionally walked. Munter then came in and gave up a sacrifice fly to Scott Hairston for a 4-0 margin.
Blum doubled in a run and scored on a wild pitch by Erick Threets in the eighth.
Game Notes
The Padres are 11-3 versus the Giants this year...Pedro Feliz had two hits for San Francisco...The 19 shutouts by the Padres tied a team record from 1985.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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