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Accardo falters in ninth and San Diego wins 6-5
By Jeremy Kahn
June 30, 2006
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San Diego Padres' Mike Piazza digs toward first as he watches his ground ball single sneak through the infield against the San Francisco Giants, driving in two runs, in the fifth inning of their baseball game Friday June 30, 2006, in San Diego. The two runs tied the game.
(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
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What is San Francisco Giants General Manager Brian Sabean going to do about the current bullpen situation with his team? Manager Felipe Alou decided to start using Jeremy Accardo in the closer’s role, instead of Armando Benitez, who began to blow saves like Barry Bonds hit home runs.
Entering the bottom of the ninth inning with a 5-4 lead, and the new closer Accardo on the mound, Accardo not only blew the save, but lost the game as well and the San Diego Padres came back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Giants 6-5 at Petco Park.
Khalil Greene hit a two-run bloop single in front of Randy Winn to score Brian Giles and former Giants second baseman Eric Young with the tying and winning runs.
The Giants jumped Padres starting pitcher Chan Ho Park in the top of the second inning, as Pedro Feliz hit a two-run home run to give the visitors a quick 2-0 lead.
Winn extended the Giants lead up to 3-0, when he tripled off of Park to score Eliezer Alfonzo.
That lead grew in the top of the third inning, as Ray Durham hit his third home run in the past week, to give the Giants what looked an insurmountable 4-0 lead.
The Padres finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Vinny Castilla drove in Giles and Greene to cut the Giants’ lead down to 4-2.
Mike Piazza tied the game up, as he singled off of Jamey Wright to score both Mike Cameron and Brad Johnson.
Mark Sweeney put the Giants back into the lead with a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning.
It was the fourth home of the season for Sweeney, who was playing against his former teammates for the second time this season in San Diego.
Accardo blew his first save, since Alou put him in the closer’s role in a victory over the Texas Rangers at AT&T Park on Tuesday night.
NOTES: The Giants and the Padres will play a day-night doubleheader tomorrow at Petco Park.
In the first game, Matt Cain will face Mike Thompson and in the nightcap the Giants will send Brad Hennessey to the mound to face Woody Williams for the homestanding Padres.
This is a makeup for a game that was rained out on April 4, 2006, when the Giants and the Padres were slated to face each other at Petco Park.
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