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Pence's blast caps Giants' comeback win over Padres

Oct 1, 2012 - 1:27 AM San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - Hunter Pence blasted a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning as the San Francisco Giants rallied for a 7-5 win over the San Diego Padres in the finale of a three-game series at Petco Park.

With San Francisco trailing 5-4, Xavier Nady roped a pinch-hit solo homer over the wall in right-center field off Huston Street (2-1) to tie the game at 5-5. Francisco Peguero followed with an infield hit and Pence crushed a fastball over the wall in straightaway center field to give the Giants the lead.

"Some balls up out over the plate were driven. They didn't miss them," Padres manager Bud Black said of the Giants.

Shane Loux (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless eighth inning and Sergio Romo worked around a two-out single in the ninth to lock down his 13th save of the season.

"I liked the way the guys kept getting after it, especially after it was ugly there early," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Gregor Blanco, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Aubrey Huff all knocked in a run for the Giants, who have won four of their last five games.

Logan Forsythe clubbed a two-run homer, while Chase Headley and Yasmani Grandal added solo shots for the Padres, who have dropped four of their last five.

San Francisco opened the scoring with a run in its first at-bat. Blanco led off the inning with a base hit, stole second, then went to third on a groundout by Ryan Theriot and scored via a grounder off the bat of Huff.

San Diego grabbed a 2-1 lead in the third when Forsythe launched a two-out, two-run shot over the left field wall.

Belt and Hector Sanchez singled in the San Francisco fourth and starting pitcher Tim Lincecum walked to load the bases with two outs. Blanco then drew a free pass, forcing in Sanchez to tie the game at 2-2.

The Padres took the lead right back in the home fourth after Grandal led off the inning with a towering shot to right-center field.

Everth Cabrera manufactured another run for the Padres in the fifth when he worked a two-out walk, stole second and third, and then scored when Sanchez's throw sailed into left field.

Headley led off the sixth with a bomb to right field for his 31st homer of the season and a 5-2 San Diego lead.

The Giants pulled to within one in the eighth. Huff walked and Pence singled, with pinch-runner Peguero going to third on a passed ball and scoring on a broken-bat single into shallow right by Belt. Pence then trotted home on a sacrifice fly by Crawford, cutting San Diego's lead to 5-4.

Lincecum allowed five runs -- four earned -- on four hits over six innings. Padres starter Edinson Volquez gave up two runs on six hits over four innings.

Game Notes

San Francisco won the season series with the Padres, 12-6 ...Since the All- Star break, San Francisco is 25-9 on the road ... The Giants finished the month of September with a 19-8 record ... San Francisco improved to 66-20 when scoring first.