Blanco’s single gives Giants edge over Phillies

Aug 16, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) rounds third base before scoring a run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants are trying to keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and the Phillies helped them by yielding the go-ahead run off Gregor Blanco‘s RBI single in the eight inning of Saturday’s game.

With the score knotted 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth, Joe Panik started the inning with a triple off Antonio Bastardo.  Jake Diekman relieved Bastardo and Gregor Blanco promptly became the hero of the game as his base hit made it 6-5.

Bastardo was charged with the loss and his record now sits at 4-7 with  4.64 ERA.  The lefty has picked up the loss in the last two games he’s appeared in and has allowed six earned runs in his last four games.

Neither starting pitcher went deep in the game.  Kyle Kendrick went five innings and gave up four runs, three of them earned.  Tim Hudson only went four innings for San Francisco and gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks.  Both hurlers threw 51 pitches for strikes, Kendrick threw 80 pitches total and Hudson 79.

Hunter Pence got the first run of the game with a solo home run in the first inning against his former team.

Ryan Howard evened the score 1-1 with his RBI single in the third and contributed a 2-RBI single in the fifth to make it 5-1.  Howard had three hits in the game.

Marlon Byrd went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly that scored a run for his 70th RBI of the season.  Byrd has an RBI in seven of his last ten games.

Ben Revere bounced back after an 0-for-5 night in the series opener by going 4-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored.  Revere is third in the National League in batting average (.311) and stolen bases (34).