SAN DIEGO _ The San Diego Padres called up a flotilla of Chihuahuas before Thursday night's series opener with the San Francisco Giants. Their Triple-A club in El Paso won the Pacific Coast League championship, and three players from its roster made their first big league starts.
For the Giants, it doesn't matter if they're playing the Dodgers, the Chihuahuas or the Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars. Ever since the All-Star break, their greatest opponent has been themselves.
And their reflection did not haunt them in a 2-1 victory that kept them atop the NL wild card standings.
Jeff Samardzija threw seven shutout innings while matching his season high with nine strikeouts, Joe Panik's double started a two-run rally in the eighth inning and Sergio Romo might have stamped himself as the closer once more after recording his second save in three days.
The Giants (81-72) remained tied in the NL wild card picture with the New York Mets, who erased two-run deficits in the ninth and 11th innings to beat the Phillies in dramatic fashion. The St. Louis Cardinals did not play and trail by a half-game.
The last time Samardzija pitched at Petco Park on July 16, the right-hander was finding his way through the thickest part of a rough patch. He allowed five runs in five innings while giving up two home runs. It came in the midst of an eight-start run from late June to early August in which he posted a 6.99 ERA.
His struggles in those first few starts after the All-Star break were magnified because Johnny Cueto also turned in a couple stinkers, and the Giants were forced to remodel an ineffective back half of the rotation.
A crumbling rotation is the most common cause of a team-wide collapse, because starting pitching forms the base of any successful pyramid. That's the odd part about these Giants. The rotation has been the least of their worries as they have played to a 100-loss pace in the second half.
Samardzija entered Thursday's start with a 2.74 ERA in his previous eight assignments _ a turnaround he credited to cleaner mechanics and more reliable action on a split-fingered fastball he has employed for early-count outs as much as its previous utility as a put-away pitch with two strikes.
He appeared to have his entire arsenal at his employ against the Padres. Samardzija placed 95 mph fastballs to record three called strikeouts in the fourth inning, and then with the Padres in protection mode, he let them fish for his curve.
He only allowed just one runner into scoring position all night, and that was Padres pitcher Christian Friedrich after he reached on Samardzija's own throwing error to start the sixth inning. The Padres elected against bunting with rookie Manuel Margot, who popped up, and then in an entertaining confrontation, Samardzija survived several authoritatively struck foul balls from Wil Myers before getting him to swing through a curve.
Samardzija pumped a fist after striking out Ryan Schimpf to end the sixth. Then he and Buster Posey teamed up to get three quick outs in the seventh, with the catcher throwing out Austin Hedges trying to steal to end the inning.
In his previous start against the Cardinals, the Giants bullpen blew Samardzija's victory. This time, the offense scored just in time to put him in position for one.
Panik snapped an 0-for-24 with a towering drive that deflected off right fielder Hunter Renfroe's glove before hopping over the fence for an automatic double. Kelby Tomlinson pinch-hit for Samardzija and fouled off a bunt attempt before sneaking a ground ball single through the left side to put runners at the corners.
Panik had to hold on Eduardo Nunez's grounder to third, which resulted in a forceout at second base. The Padres attempted to exploit a loophole and challenged Tomlinson's slide, but replay officials did not change the call.
The Giants only needed a deep fly ball to score a run. Angel Pagan gave them something in between. His bloop single landed fair in the grass a foot from the chalk line in right field. Both runners had to hold until they were sure the ball wouldn't be caught, and Renfroe showed off an electric arm when he threw to the plate.
It appeared the Padres might have had a play on Panik, but catcher Austin Hedges had begun to jog up the third base line and Myers, the first baseman, cut off the throw as the Giants took a 1-0 lead.
Buster Posey struck out to end a fruitless night, but Hunter Pence lashed a double down the left field line that scored Tomlinson. The Giants couldn't manage a second add-on hit, though, as Gorkys Hernandez popped up to strand two runners in scoring position.
That left six outs for the Giants bullpen to protect a two-run lead. They recorded one before giving half of it back. Derek Law received a reprieve when Jon Jay fouled off a middle-middle pitch before hitting a fly out to medium center field. Alex Dickerson did not provide the same courtesy when he followed with a home run.
Two trade-deadline acquisitions got the Giants out of the eighth. Left-hander Will Smith entered and struck out Adam Rosales, then Nunez made a smothering stop at third base to retire Margot to end the inning.
Smith, who came from the Milwaukee Brewers, and Nunez, who came from the Minnesota Twins, gave each other a hug in the dugout.
Bruce Bochy entrusted the ninth to Romo, who had recorded his first save in more than a year on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, and let him face a pair of left-handed batters, too.
Romo gave up a bloop double with one out to Schimpf, who already had crushed the Giants once this month when he homered in the ninth inning of a loss Sept. 13 at AT&T Park.
But Renfroe, who hit 30 home runs for El Paso, popped up while reaching for an outside slider. And another left-handed hitter, Carlos Asuaje, grounded out to end it.
