Instant Replay: Reds 5, Giants 1

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SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants hit safely in each of the first seven innings, but Reds starting pitcher and escape artist Mike Leake left them all on the basepaths as the Reds turned the tables and were a ninth-inning Pablo Sandoval home run short of shutting out the Giants on Orange Friday at AT&T Park.Matt Cain's first pitch at AT&T Park since throwing a perfect game was turned around for a leadoff home run by Zack Cozart, quickly ending any talk about the Giants' scoreless innings streak, which halted at a clean 36 innings.Starting pitching report:The first post-perfect game inning at AT&T Park wasn't easy for Matt Cain, even after he gave up his first home run of the season to a leadoff hitter. After walking Drew Stubbs, doubles from Joey Votto and Jay Bruce gave the Reds a 3-0 lead before Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake threw his first pitch. It was the first three runs scored against the Giants since Derek Norris' three-run walk-off home run last Sunday. After Bruce's double knocked in two, Cain locked in and fanned Ryan Ludwick and Scott Rolen to end the history-halting frame.Cain kept the Reds at three runs until, with two outs in the sixth inning when Leake -- opposing pitcher and apparently feared hitter -- took him deep. It was Leake's second career home run, and his second this season. After his 2-for-4 night, he is batting .357 (10-for-28) on the season, tops in a feared Cincinnati lineup.Jay Bruce proved to be the thorn in Cain's side Friday. His seventh-inning double scored Brandon Phillips, and chased Cain from the game. Bruce tied a career-high four hits in the game.Cain, who gave up two home runs in a loss to the Reds in April, departed after 6 23 innings. He was knocked around for 11 hits, allowing five runs while walking one and striking out seven. Again he gave up two home runs in a loss to Cincinnati.Bullpen report:Brad Penny was in uniform and ready to relieve, but it was Clay Hensley who was called upon to relieve Matt Cain in a double switch. Hensley pitched 1 13 innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.George Kontos pitched the top of the ninth, and used an impressive double play to erase a leadoff single.With the bats:The Giants hit safely in each of the first seven innings. But Mike Leake stranded everyone.Things looked good in the fifth when Brandon Crawford led it off with ground-rule double smoked into right-center field. But Matt Cain failed to get the sacrifice bunt down, and Gregor Blanco and Ryan Theriot grounded out to strand Crawford.Leake went the distance, although he was denied his first career shutout when Pablo Sandoval's ninth-inning blast triggered the water jets on the right field landing. It was Leake's first career complete game.With the gloves:With Joey Votto on first base, Jay Bruce hit a solid single to right field in the fifth inning, and the Giants put third-base umpire C.B. Bucknor on the spot with a textbook relay. Gregor Blanco fed Brandon Crawford. Crawford fed Pablo Sandoval, and Sandoval applied the tag on the N.L. MVP candidate with what appeared to be enough time, but Bucknor saw otherwise; safe was the call. Matt Cain escaped the inning unscathed when he retired Ryan Ludwick on a check-swing putout.Bruce Bochy made it to the top of the stairs to go argue the call, then looked at bench coach Ron Wotus, who shook his head, advising his manager to avoid a second umpire-questioning trip in as many innings. Bochy retreated. His first trip out came in the fourth inning on Sandoval's poor decision on the basepaths.Another Giants streak was snapped Friday night. Ryan Ludwick hit a seventh-inning ground ball Pablo Sandoval's way, and the big third baseman couldn't handle it, breaking the Giants' streak of six straight games without an error. But Melky Cabrera had his teammate's back, coming up firing on the ball that rolled into left. His hose to home caught Jay Bruce off guard. Bruce went Jeremy Giambi and didn't slide. He was tagged out by Buster Posey to end the inning.In the top of the ninth inning, Brandon Phillips roped another ball Sandoval's way. This one Sandoval made a beautiful play to snare it on the short-hop, as he fell to his backside, rose and fired to second to initiate the 5-4-3 inning-ending double play, and send the Giants into the ninth with a smidgen of momentum.On the bases:Ryan Theriot singled in the first and stole second for his eighth swiped bag of the season, but like all the Giants baserunners in the first seven innings, he was stranded.Gregor Blanco fouled a ball off his knee in the third inning and looked to be in serious pain when he crumpled to the ground, drawing Bochy and head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner from the dugout. But the Giants' jackrabbit proceeded to leg out an infield single and steal his 14th bag of the season. Needless to say, his knee is fine.Pablo Sandoval was involved in a controversial play on the basepaths in the next inning. Brandon Belt hit a ground ball up the middle that second baseman Brandon Phillips, fresh from his day off with concussion-like symptoms, did well to corral with a dive. Phillips didn't get a clean handle on it, but he improvised, batting the ball bare-handed toward shortstop Zack Cozart. Cozart caught the ball on second base and immediately leaped to throw to first, but a hard-charging Sandoval unnecessarily stuck out an arm and took out Cozart's legs. The umpires congregated, and with the help of Dusty Baker, ruled Belt out on interference for the inning-ending double play. If Sandoval had left Cozart alone, Belt would have been safe at first and the Giants would have had runners at the corners with two outs and Brandon Crawford at the plate.Attendance:The Giants announced the 123rd consecutive sellout in San Francisco with a paid attendance of 41,960, 20,000 of which departed after the Giants went 1-2-3 in the eighth inning. The uncharacteristic exodus for Giants fans coincided with San Francisco's ominous fog creeping into AT&T Park from left field. Up next:Weekend day baseball is next for the Giants and Reds. Game 3 of the four-game series is slated for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch with Barry Zito (6-5, 4.00) opposing N.L. West-transplant and Giants enemy Mat Latos (6-2, 4.77). Expect to see familiar faces in the building as the Giants' 2002 reunion ceremony is scheduled for Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

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