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		Giants leap-frog Reds in Wild-Card Race By Jeremy Harness September 6, 2006
	San Francisco Giants' Ray Durham, right, is congratulated after hitting a solo home run off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ryan Franklin in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006, in Cincinnati. Durham had two solo home runs in the Giants 3-2 win. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)
	As crazy as it sounds, the Giants have a chance to get into the playoffs, especially if they play the way they did on Wednesday afternoon. The Giants inched a little closer to the National League Wild Card on Wednesday, beating the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ball Park, 3-2, to take the rubber match of a three-game series. Second baseman Ray Durham hit two solo home runs to give rookie starter Jonathan Sanchez his third win in a row without a loss. To get the win, Sanchez went 5 1/3 innings and gave up only one run on three runs. Meanwhile, he struck out seven hitters and walked only two. The bullpen was able to preserve the lead from there, as four different pitchers combined to give up only one run and only three hits - all being charged to Kevin Correia, who lasted 1 1/3 innings. Hitting in the fifth spot in the order, Durham hit his 22nd and 23rd homers of the season and improved his average to .295. He also drove in his 84th and 85th runs of the year, by virtue of those long balls. The Giants sit three games behind in the National League wild-card race. San Diego currently holds the lead, while the Florida Marlins, who got a no-hitter from rookie Anibal Sanchez on Wednesday, and Philadelphia are each 2 ½ games back. The Padres and the Colorado Rockies went to 11 innings tonight at San Diego’s Petco Park, and won in the bottom of the 11th, on a home run by Padres rookie Paul McAnulty to give the Padres a 2-0 victory over the Rockies, and San Diego is now 1 game behind the Dodgers in the Western Division race, while the Giants find themselves 4.5 games behind the Dodgers in third place in the Western Division. Meanwhile, the Reds are 4.5 games behind the Padres in the Wild Card Race in fifth place, while they are six games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central race. Giants Notes: San Francisco has Thursday off, and will resume play on Friday, when the San Diego Padres come to AT&T Park for a three game series. On the mound for the Giants will be Matt Cain (11-9, 4.11 era), while for the Padres, Jake Peavy (8-13, 4.32 era) will be on the mound.