Baggs' Instant Replay: Padres 6, Giants 4

BOX SCORE
SAN FRANCISCOIn a franchise first, the Giants combined fan appreciation day with a spring training split-squad Sunday afternoon.OK, so there werent any mist fans at AT&T Park and the Salty Pavilion didnt replace Levis Landing. But one day after the Giants clinched the NL West, their reserve-laden lineup had the feel of an afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium.Giants manager Bruce Bochy apologized in advance for sitting all of his regulars except outfielder Gregor Blanco, saying he couldnt pass up a chance to rest his grinders barely a dozen hours after they clinched the division. He said Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro, especially, could use the 48-hour break that they would receive when combined with Mondays day off.The B squad offered mixed results in a 6-4 loss to the San Diego Padres.Francisco Peguero had a game he wont forget, collecting the first two hits of his major league career and stealing a pair of bases. Justin Christian might have had an impulse to ask for the baseball, too, after hitting a pinch single to snap an 0-for-25 streak that began in July.Bochy emptied his bench in the late innings and brought pinch hitter Buster Posey to the plate with the chance to hit a walk-off grand slam. But Posey hit an RBI ground out and Ryan Theriot lined out with the tying runs at the corners to end it.Starting pitching reportYusmeiro Petit subbed for Tim Lincecum and threw 94 pitches over 4 23 innings. He wasnt particularly sharp, giving up seven hits and walking four. But hey, its better than anything the Rockies are getting these days.Bullpen reportDont sleep on Dan Runzler. He has smoothed out his delivery and located an easy, 94 mph fastball while inducing a double-play grounder in the seventh inning.Clay Hensley had another rough outing, though. He retired just one of the five batters he faced and gave up a tiebreaking, two-run single to Yonder Alonso in the seventh inning. Thats not a great way to start your unofficial audition for the playoff roster.Brad Penny gave up a pinch home run to Mark Kotsay, leading thousands to wonder if an old timers game broke out spontaneously.At the plateXavier Nady collected two hits, made two hard outs and his double scored Ryan Theriot in the fourth inning.But Peguero had the most memorable afternoon at the plate. He wore a priceless, embarrassed smile while standing on first base as he received a standing ovation for beating out a dribbler to shortstop. For varietys sake on the spray charts, Peguero later lined a single to left field.Eli Whiteside hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning that gave the Giants a momentary lead.Bochy emptied his bench in the late innings and received another booming hit from Aubrey Huff, who is making one heck of a statement in September. He singled off the right field bricks, improving to 5 for 9 with two walks and just one strikeout as a pinch hitter in the month.In fieldWhiteside threw out two of three runners trying to stealincluding one on a pitchout. But backup catcher Hector Sanchez, who entered on a double switch, threw wild to bases twice in the Padres two-run eighth inning.AttendanceThe Giants announced 41,511 paid. Nothing like the prospect of a free car to keep em in their seats to the end. Or perhaps it was the lure of seeing Jon Miller and Dave Flemming dance to Gangnam Style in the ninth inning?Up nextThe Giants take Monday off before finishing their final homestand of the season with three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Barry Zito are expected to start against a trio of left-handers: Tyler Skaggs, Wade Miley and Patrick Corbin.