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Thursday, Apr. 5 10:15pm ET
Giants sweep past Padres for 3-0 start
RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The Giants wish they had hit like this against Bobby J. Jones last October.

Jeff Kent hit a tiebreaking three-run homer off Jones in the third inning, and San Francisco beat the San Diego Padres 8-2 Thursday night for a season-opening three-game sweep.

Jones (0-1) pitched a one-hit shutout for the New York Mets to eliminate the Giants in the first round of last year's NL playoffs, allowing a fifth-inning double to Kent.

"That was not an issue before the game and it's not an issue now," said Kent. "I don't care. This has nothing to do with the past."

This time, San Francisco got to Jones for four runs and six hits in five innings, dropping San Diego to 0-3 for the first time since 1994, when the Padres lost their first four. It was Jones' first game since signing with San Diego as a free agent.

“ "That was not an issue before the game and it's not an issue now. I don't care. This has nothing to do with the past." ”
— Jeff Kent of the Giants, remembering the playoff game

"I don't think about the past," Jones said. "I just try to put it behind me, just like I'll try to do after this one. I have to look ahead."

Jones did allow that the pitch Kent hit for his home run was similar to the pitch he hit for a double in the playoffs.

"It was a good pitch, but it wasn't a good pitch to him," Jones said.

Russ Ortiz (1-0), who gave up two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, was a spectator when Jones shut down the Giants last year.

"He pitched a great game and you can't do anything about that," said Ortiz, who spent Wednesday at home in bed fighting a 24-hour bug. "For the most part, I was interested to see how things would go. Our guys took a lot of good hacks off him last time. It was a matter of time before we jumped on him."

Ryan Klesko put San Diego ahead in the first with a run-scoring double-play grounder following Damian Jackson's double.

Rich Aurilia hit a game-tying single in the third and Kent's homer made it 4-1.

"Pitching is always a key," Kent said. "If you get good pitching, you'll play good baseball. Right now our guys are healthy and strong."

Klesko hit an RBI single in the fifth and San Diego loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, but Aaron Fultz relieved and got Jackson to ground into a forceout.

"This was an ugly game for us," San Diego manager Bruce Bochy said. "The way we played tonight we wouldn't have beaten anybody. They put it to us this series."

Calvin Murray had a three-run homer off Dave Maurer in the seventh, the second pinch-hit homer of Murray's career. Santiago had an RBI double in the eighth against Trevor Hoffman.

Game notes
Giants OF Eric Davis left in the fourth with a twisted left knee. He is to have an MRI on Friday. ... Padres LHP Sterling Hitchcock threw four scoreless innings, allowing three hits with a walk and two strikeouts, in a rehab game at Single-A Lake Elisnore, his first appearance in a competitive game since last May 26 against Montreal. He underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery on June 6. ... Giants 3B Pedro Feliz made his first major league start, and committed a fielding error in his first major league chance. He later stole his first base. ... The Padres were last swept in San Francisco from Sept. 24-27, 1993 in a four-game series. ... The Giants lost their first six games at Pac Bell Park last season. ... Santiago is 7-for-15 (.467) against Jones. ... Maurer was unavailable on Wednesday, spending the day in his hotel room with the flu. ... Padres SS Donaldo Mendez made his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the eighth.

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RECAPS
Toronto 11
Tampa Bay 0

Minnesota 9
Detroit 5

NY Yankees 1
Kansas City 0

Baltimore 2
Boston 1

Anaheim 10
Texas 3

Cincinnati 4
Pittsburgh 1

Chicago Cubs 2
Montreal 1

Colorado 11
St. Louis 2

NY Mets 7
Atlanta 1

Houston 8
Milwaukee 2

Los Angeles 7
Arizona 5

San Francisco 8
San Diego 2





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