Instant Replay: Giants 7, Padres 1

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCOBuster Posey collected three hits, including a three-run opposite field home run, and Ryan Vogelsong held the Padres to one run in seven innings to help the Giants open a 10-game homestand with a 7-1 win over San Diego.Starting pitching report: Ryan Vogelsong has worked six innings or more in all of his 18 starts this season after another solid performance Monday.Vogelsong needed 108 pitches, 62 of which were strikes, to complete seven innings of one-run ball against the Padres.Despite only one flawless 1-2-3 inning, the Giants veteran right-hander was in control all night and, with an early 4-0 lead to work with, cruised through San Diegos suddenly potent lineup (4.67 runs per game in July).The Padres only run came in the fourth inning, when Mark Kotsay led off with a sharp ground ball that hit off Vogelsong for an infield single and advanced to third on Yasmani Grandals double down the right-field line. Kotsay eventually scored on Yonder Alonsos sacrifice fly. As he did in the second and third, Vogelsong ended the inning with a strikeout.Vogelsong looked like he might not make it through the seventh inning when he walked Everth Cabrera on four pitches with one out. After a wild pitch moved Cabrera to second, Vogelsong walked Jesus Guzman, his third free pass of the evening. But with two outs, Ryan Theriot stretched to catch Logan Forsythes sharp liner and save his starter from a mid-inning exit.With his 17th quality start, Vogelsong trails just the Nationals Jordan Zimmermann for the most in the majors.Vogelsongs final line: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (W, 8-4)Bullpen report: While the Padres bullpen saw some action as early as the first inning, the Giants didnt start getting a reliever loose until the seventh, when Clay Hensley started warming up after Vogelsong issued a one-out walk.Hensley wasnt needed until the eighth inning, when he entered with a 7-1 lead and set down San Diego in order.George Kontos got the call to close out the game and finished off a quick two-and-a-half-hour game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.At the plate: The Giants are 33-13 when they score first and they wasted no time doing so Monday.Nate Schierholtz, leading off for the third straight game, grounded out to first base to start the contest, but Ryan Theriot, Melky Cabrera and Buster Posey all followed with hits to stake the Giants to a 1-0 lead. Theriot went the opposite way for a double into the corner and advanced to third on an infield single from Cabrera, who hustled all the way down the line to barely beat the throw. With runners on the corners, Posey hit a grounder just past the outstretched glove of shortstop Everth Cabrera for a run-scoring single.Padres starter Clayton Richard then issued back-to-back walks to Pablo Sandoval and Angel Pagan to force in another run. Joaquin Arias, getting the start at third with Sandoval at first, followed with what couldve been an inning-ending double play ground ball. But Sandoval blocked the view of San Diego shortstop Everth Cabrera, who bobbled the ball as he went to field it and settled for just the force out at second base.The Giants fourth run of the first frame came on a bizarre sequence of events rarely seen in a Major League Baseball game. Brandon Crawford roped a liner to left that Mark Kotsay appeared to trap. But third base umpire and crew chief Dana DeMuth ruled it an inning-ending catch. While the Padres, including a grinning Kotsay, retreated to the dugout, Giants third-base coach Tim Flannery and manager Bruce Bochy came out to argue on Crawfords behalf. After conferring with his fellow umpires, DeMuth and his crew changed the call, giving Crawford a single and the Giants a 4-0 lead.With the big cushion, the Giants bats stayed quiet until the fifth inning. With one out, Theriot singled for his third hit of the evening and Cabrera followed with his second single. At the plate with runners on the corners for the second time, Posey did even better than his first-inning RBI single, as he flashed opposite field power with a three-run home run that landed in the first row of the arcade seats above the Levis Landing sign.The Giants 2-3-4 hitters of Theriot, Cabrera and Posey combined to go 9-for-12 with six runs and four RBIs.Schierholtz went 0-for-4 with a strikeout out of the leadoff spot after collecting three hits over his last two games as the table setter. Angel Pagan was the only other starting position player to go hitless.Pablo Sandoval went 1-for-3 with a run scored in his first game as a starting first baseman this season.In the field: Ryan Theriot had a chance at an inning-ending double play in the second inning, but his under-handed feed to Brandon Crawford was too low and the Giants got no outs on the play.Immediately after Theriots error, Pablo Sandoval proved that hes capable of a flashy dive no matter which side of the diamond hes on, as he went to the ground to field a sharp ground ball from Everth Cabrera and gave Ryan Vogelsong a perfect feed at first base for the putout.Buster Posey got a chance to show off his cannon of an arm with two outs in the third inning when Logan Forsythe, who was hit by a pitch, took off for second. Despite getting a low changeup from Vogelsong, Posey was able to fire a perfect strike to Brandon Crawford at second for the inning-ending caught stealing.Schierholtz ranged to his left to catch Forsythes fly ball down the line, though he ended up catching it in the heel, not the webbing, of his glove. With a runner on second, the impressive running catch may have saved a run.With the game already out of reach at 7-1, Melky Cabrera didnt hesitate to put his body in harms way as he fell into the stands to catch a foul ball in the sixth inning. Awestruck fans helped Cabrera, flashing an ear-to-ear grin, back on to the field as light MVP chants broke out around the ballpark.On the bases: Ryan Theriot stole his 11th base of the season in the fifth inning with an impressive jump. Theriot stole just four bases last year with the Cardinals, but was good for 20 combined between the Cubs and Dodgers in 2010.Attendance: The Giants announced a crowd of 42,430 for their 130th consecutive sellout at AT&T Park. Thats just slightly less than the average number of San Francisco fans present at a Giants vs. Padres game at PETCO Park.Up next: The Giants host the Padres for game two of three in a Tuesday night game. San Diego will send Edinson Volquez (6-7, 3.34 ERA) to the mound to oppose Madison Bumgarner (11-6, 3.12 ERA).