SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Joe Musgrove struck out eight in six innings, Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill both drove in two runs and the San Diego Padres beat San Francisco 8-0 on Saturday night to hand the Giants their third straight shutout.
Donovan Solano had four of San Diego's 17 hits and Xander Bogaerts homered for the Padres, who hold the top National League wild card. They clawed within 3 1/2 games of the first-place Dodgers — who have lost four of five — in the NL West.
Musgrove said the Padres are “chasing right down their backs right now.”
“We’re playing really good baseball,” he said. “Our confidence is high. The approach is right on both sides of the baseball. So I think we’re in a really good spot to make a push at this thing.”
The Giants have lost four of five. They've been shut out in three consecutive games for the first time since 1992 and just the fourth time in the San Francisco era (since 1958).
Frustrated manager Bob Melvin said his team is focused, running hard down the line and preparing for games, but “it just looks awful when you’re not hitting and you’re playing awful defense.”
He added the Giants did not display “major league quality” on Saturday.
“It’s the big leagues,” Melvin said. “It looks like the instructional league at times.”
San Francisco has only 14 hits over the last three games, and is the first MLB team to be blanked in three straight games this season.
“I feel like every team struggles, but not this bad,” second-place hitter Heliot Ramos said. “We’ve got to be better as a team and individually as well.”
Luis Arráez extended his streak to 135 at-bats without a strikeout for the Padres. It’s the longest since Juan Pierre went 147 at-bats without a strikeout in 2004.
Before the game, Melvin said the approach to pitching to Arráez is “carefully, and hope he hits it at somebody.”
“The issue is what you've got coming behind him,” Melvin said. “So, you just have to deal with him and try to make good pitches on him."
Musgrove (6-5) rebounded after allowing six runs in a loss to the Giants last week, holding San Francisco to three hits without a walk this time.
Giants starter Mason Black (0-4) yielded two runs and six hits in four innings, losing to the Padres for the second consecutive start.
“It’s just been, continue to attack,” Black said of what he's learned from facing San Diego twice in a row. “It’s almost like I just want to go out there, prove to myself and see what I can do and let them hit the ball."
After Black exited, the Padres gave Musgrove a 5-0 cushion with a three-run sixth against Sean Hjelle. Arráez had a two-out RBI single, also extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Later in the inning, Machado drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single. San Diego added three more in the eighth, including a two-run double by Merrill.
Padres manager Mike Shildt said having Solano, who entered the game batting .288, hitting eighth is a testament to the strength of San Diego's lineup.
“Sometimes you look to the bottom as a breather, and there’s no breathers at the bottom of our lineup,” Shildt said. “Having Donovan Solano — if he’s down there hitting eight for us — says quite a lot about the length of our lineup.”
Machado gave the Padres an early lead with a double that scored Jurickson Profar from first after an error by Ramos on his throw from center field. Bogaerts’ homer in the fourth made it 2-0.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Padres: INF Ha-Seong Kim (right shoulder inflammation) played light catch and plans to ramp up his throwing intensity in the next few days. … LHP Martin Pérez, the scheduled starter Sunday, was reinstated from the paternity list. LHP Tom Cosgrove was optioned to Triple-A El Paso.
Giants: INF Tyler Fitzgerald (lower back tightness) could return as soon as Tuesday after an MRI revealed no structural damage. … RHP Jordan Hicks (right shoulder inflammation) was reinstated from the injured list, and RHP Austin Warren was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. … LHP Robbie Ray (left hamstring strain) threw a bullpen.
UP NEXT
Giants RHP Landen Roupp (0-1, 3.44 ERA) starts Sunday in the series finale opposite Pérez (4-5, 4.46).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb