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SF needs just 1 inning for 5-1 win over Seattle

May 24, 2009 - 5:58 AM By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer

SEATTLE(AP) -- On a maddening streak of failing to come up with a clutch hit, Juan Uribe was the one to finally come through for the San Francisco Giants.

With two outs in the eighth inning and the frustration mounting in the Giants' dugout, Uribe split the gap in right-center field with a bases-clearing double that started a five-run inning. Throw in Matt Cain's complete-game effort on the mound and San Francisco's 5-1 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night looked almost ordinary.

But for a Giants offense that had just three hits in their previous 35 at-bats with runners in scoring position, Uribe's hit was a critical moment where the pressure on San Francisco's batters was finally released.

"You could feel a sense of relief in the dugout," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "They were pressing and once he got that hit, you saw different at-bats after that. I thought it would take a hit to get the guys to relax a little bit. We certainly needed it."

With two outs and the bases loaded, Uribe lined a 1-0 pitch from Seattle reliever Mark Lowe to the wall in right-center field, scoring all three runners just when it appeared the Giants were destined for another low-scoring loss.

Following Uribe's double, Fred Lewis slugged a two-run homer off Lowe (0-2) as the Giants matched their season-high with five runs in the inning - nearly equaling their offensive output of seven runs in the previous six games before Saturday.

"I don't want to do too much," Uribe said of his at-bat against Lowe, Seattle's hard-throwing setup man. "I just want to see the ball and hit the ball."

The rally helped Cain win his third straight decision, following up on a 2-0 victory over the New York Mets last Sunday. Cain (5-1) was remarkably efficient with his pitches, peppering the zone with strikes all night. He threw 111 pitches, 81 strikes, and coasted to his fifth career complete game.

Only once did Seattle solve Cain. In the third, Franklin Gutierrez and Ichiro Suzuki both jumped on pitches early in the count for singles. Endy Chavez then bunted the pair into scoring position and Adrian Beltre's routine grounder to short was deep enough for Gutierrez to score.

But Cain allowed just four singles after the third - never more than one in an inning - and allowed just one runner to reach second. He gave up 10 hits, struck out seven and walked none, winning for just the fourth time in 12 interleague starts.

"We threw a lot of first pitch strikes and a lot of their hits were done kind of quick," Cain said. "But we kept them to singles and got a couple of double plays and that helps."

Seattle starter Garrett Olson matched Cain, shutting out the Giants for six innings while filling in for Jarrod Washburn, who was scratched with tightness above his left knee. Keeping his pitches down in the zone, Olson scattered just four hits and allowed only two runners to reach second base. He struck out four and walked only two.

But Seattle's usually reliable bullpen failed.

Miguel Batista made things interesting in the seventh by loading the bases with one out. But the veteran righty struck out pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz and Beltre snared Aaron Rowand's one-hopper to end the threat.

Lowe, who manager Don Wakamatsu emphasized after the game had pitched in six of the last nine games, got two easy outs in the eighth before giving up back-to-back singles to Bengie Molina and Randy Winn, and walking Emmanuel Burriss on a 3-2 pitch. Uribe then hit his fourth double.

"It takes its toll, but at the same time that is what you are here to do," Lowe said. "That is what our job is."

After Lewis' shot, the Giants loaded the bases again before Denny Stark struck out Rich Aurilla to end the inning.

Notes: Giants 1B Jesus Guzman picked up his first major league hit in the seventh, an infield single that Beltre made a diving stop on but couldn't get the ball to second in time for a forceout on Winn. It was initially ruled a fielder's choice, even though the ball was thrown into the Giants dugout for Guzman to keep, everyone assuming it was a hit. It was later changed to a hit. ... Giants DH Pablo Sandoval left in the eighth inning with a sore right elbow. He was scheduled to catch Sunday's series finale, but Bochy said afterward that Sandoval would not play.