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Padres down Giants behind strong effort from Stults

Jul 5, 2014 - 4:14 AM San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Stults pitched seven strong innings to lead the San Diego Padres in a 2-0 win over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a three-game set.

Stults (3-11) scattered four hits and two walks while striking out six for the Padres, who have won five straight. He broke a run of eight consecutive losses as he hadn't won a game since May 10.

"That's a good lineup you have over there and they have a lot of power," said San Diego manager Bud Black. "Stults did a good job of putting his pitches where he wanted them and keeping them off balance."

Alexi Amarista hit a solo home run and Chase Headley went 4-for-4 with an RBI in the win.

Matt Cain (1-7) was touched for both runs on seven hits over seven innings for the Giants, who have dropped three straight and seven of eight.

The only runs in this game came in the third inning. With one out, Amarista hit his second home run of the year. Two batters later, Seth Smith doubled and scored when Headley followed with a single to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. Headley was thrown out trying to reach second on the hit.

"I mixed in a couple of pitches that I'd like to have back and they changed the game," said Cain. "I certainly didn't want to hang that changeup there to Amarista and he tagged it."

Stults got into a jam just once in his start, in the second inning when the Giants loaded the bases with two outs. Cain, though, struck out swinging to end the frame.

Just one Giant reached second base for the rest of Stults' outing, while Joaquin Benoit pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.

Huston Street needed just eight pitches to set the side down in order in the ninth and pick up his 23rd save on the season.

Game Notes

Cain had six strikeouts in the game and went over 1,500 for his career. He is 0-4 in his last seven starts ... The Padres moved to 25-20 on July 4, while the Giants fell to 22-36-1 on the holiday in the San Francisco era ... Before the game, the Giants activated first baseman Brandon Belt from the 15-day disabled list. He had been out since May 9 with a fractured left thumb and went 0-for-4 in the game.