Sep 18, 2007, 4:43 GMT
San Diego, CA - Jack Cassel and three relievers combined for a shutout despite allowing 10 hits, as the San Diego Padres topped the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0, in the opener of a three-game set at Petco Park.
Cassel (1-0) went six innings for his first major league victory, allowing eight hits and striking out three while walking none. Doug Brocail, Heath Bell, and Trevor Hoffman tossed the next three scoreless innings. Hoffman worked the ninth for his 38th save of the season.
'Once I got settled in there, about the third, fourth inning, I started getting a good feel for my changeup and that allowed me to at least slow the hitters down a little bit,' said Cassel. 'I utilized my fastball. I didn't have to be as fine with my location with the fastball.'
Khalil Greene hit a two-run home run and Mike Cameron drove in the other run for San Diego, which won its fourth straight to maintain a 1 1/2 game lead on Philadelphia in the National League wild card race. The Padres also moved to within one game of the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost 8-5, at home to San Francisco.
John Van Benschoten (0-6) allowed just three earned runs on five hits over five innings, but took the loss opposite Cassel.
Nyjer Morgan and Ronny Paulino each had a pair of hits for Pittsburgh, but the Pirates could not break through offensively, leaving eight runners on base.
Pittsburgh has now lost its last three games, and four of its last six.
The Padres took the lead in the bottom half of the first when Brian Giles worked a leadoff walk and came home on Cameron's RBI double.
Greene made it a 3-0 game in the fourth with a one-out, two-run shot to left, scoring Adrian Gonzalez, who had lined a single to right in the at-bat immediately prior.
Pittsburgh had its chances, including a pair of leadoff baserunners in the fifth, and multiple-hit innings in the sixth and seventh. But San Diego consistently minimized the damage, playing errorless baseball and turning two double plays to preserve the win for Cassel.
'We had base runners, but obviously we couldn't get the follow-up hit once we had set some stages,' Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. 'We had 10 hits tonight and we don't score.'
Game Notes
San Diego now has 20 shutout wins for the season, a franchise record, and the most in the majors this season...The Padres are 54-18 when they score first...Hoffman recorded career save number 520...The Pirates have now been shut out 11 times this season...The Padres have clinched a fourth consecutive winning season, also a franchise record.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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