Pablo Sandoval singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning

SAN FRANCISCO - Pablo Sandoval singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 2-1 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night and into first place in the NL West. Cheap NHL Jerseys . The struggling Sandoval came through after reliever J.P. Howell (1-1) intentionally walked Hunter Pence with two outs. Sandoval, who entered the game batting just .164, grounded into centre field to score Joaquin Arias from second. Jean Machi (3-0) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam earlier in the seventh for the win. Buster Posey broke an 0-for-13 skid with an RBI single in the third to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Dee Gordons tying triple in the sixth accounted for the Dodgers lone run. Los Angeles at least dodged worse news. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez left in the seventh after getting hit by a pitch from Ryan Vogelsong on the top of his left hand. The team said X-rays on Ramirezs hand were negative. Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save, striking out Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp to end the game. Vogelsong allowed the one run and four hits in six-plus innings to help the Giants win their third straight game. He struck out two and walked two to match Paul Maholm most of the way. Maholm gave up one run and five hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked three to rebound from a loss in his only other start this season on April 5, when he allowed five runs in 4 1-3 innings to the Giants. San Francisco improved to 4-1 against the Dodgers this season in a race that could remain tight through the summer. Both teams began the day with a 9-5 record. The starting pitchers kept the game moving at a far brisker pace than the nearly 5-hour contest Tuesday night that ended when Hector Sanchez singled home the winning run with two outs in the 12th inning to give the Giants the win. The biggest blemish came when Vogelsong hit the top of Ramirezs left hand to open the seventh. Ramirez slammed his helmet to the ground and hopped around in pain before being replaced by Justin Turner. After the Dodgers loaded the bases with one out, Machi fielded a hard comebacker from Juan Uribe to start a home-to-first double play. The biggest hold up came from baseballs new replay system after Vogelsong pick of Kemp at first base in the second inning. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly challenge the play, which umpires upheld after a 4:25 video review that drew light boos from some fans during the wait. NOTES: Dodgers ace and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who is on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his back, threw breaking balls off flat ground. He is scheduled to throw off a mound Thursday. ... An MRI on Dodgers RHP Chad Billingsley showed no ligament damage in his elbow, Mattingly said. Billingsley has some tendinitis that will delay his recovery. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford sat out with tightness in his right hamstring but said he expects to play Thursday. ... The Giants activated lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt (sprained right knee) from the 15-day disabled list and optioned OF Juan Perez to Triple-A Fresno. ... Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig entered in the seventh and grounded out in the eighth. ... Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 3.31 ERA) takes the mound opposite Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 2.57 ERA) in Thursdays series finale. Doug Gilmour Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Jake Allen Jersey . The 36-year-old said a few months ago he would hang up his boots at the end of the season, but has since changed his mind. "Its a pity the season is ending now, as I am in good physical shape and enjoying myself," Di Natale said. http://www.nhlbluesauthority.com/authentic-chris-thorburn-blues-jersey/ . Pretty good hitting, too. Dan Haren pitched six innings and sparked the go-ahead rally with a single, leading Los Angeles to another win over the skidding Atlanta Braves, 4-2 on Tuesday night.TORONTO -- Sepp Blatter appeared at peace. Perhaps it was lingering memories of a chaotic Brazilian World Cup that have FIFAs president so happy to be in Canada. Maybe it was a modestly attended press conference where he faced no questions about bidding corruption, 2018 World Cup host Russias alleged military involvement in Ukraine or labour rights in 2022 host Qatar. Whatever the reason, Canada suits Blatter just fine. So fine in fact that Blatter didnt have to be asked about a possible World Cup in Canada -- he brought it up on his own. "Lets go to see if you can bring the famous FIFAs World Cup we just played in Brazil to your country," he said Monday. "Im sure that this country will be as calm as it is now, and tell me one country in the world actually that is very calm. And here, I feel home." Thats good news for Canadian soccer ahead of the Under-20 Womens World Cup, which begins Tuesday and runs through Aug. 24 in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Moncton, N.B. Canada opens play Tuesday against Ghana in Toronto. The 16-team event is a precursor to next years Womens World Cup, which will move from 16 teams to 24. Blatter called the tournaments a necessary step to a successful bid by the Canadian Soccer Association for the mens tournament. "Its time. Its a project and if youre going to have a project like the FIFA World Cup, it takes some time," he said. "You have had the courage and it was necessary to (CSA president Victor Montagliani) to have the courage to ask, to organize FIFAs Womens World Cup with 24 teams. It will be the first time." The CSA has said it plans to enter a formal bid for the 2026 World Cup. "Were the only G8 country that hasnt hosted a World Cup ...," said Montagliani. "I think weve sort of started to shed our humbleness a little bit ... I think thats our next step of evolution in terms oof the growth of the game, and I think something that not only bodes well for our country but also the continent and will help our neighbours as well. Shayne Corson Jersey. " None of which actually guarantees Canada will host a World Cup. Canada won the bidding to both womens tournaments in 2011 after its lone opposition, Zimbabwe, pulled out of consideration. Canada previously hosted the mens Under-17 World Cup in 1987 and the mens Under-20 World Cup in 2007, as well as the first womens under-20 tournament in 2002. Theres also the matter of a significant disparity between the womens and mens teams. The womens side, led by star Christine Sinclair of London, Ont., is ranked seventh in the world and recently won bronze at the 2012 London Games. The men are 118th in the world, have only a 1986 World Cup appearance to their credit and are early in a rebuilding process. But Blatter was quick to reminisce about Canadas soccer history. He recalled the decision made in Montreal by the FIFA Congress in 1976 to expel South Africa for its then pro-apartheid stance. He also downplayed Canadas geographic disadvantage as a possible World Cup host. "The distances? What are distances?" he said. "We have just been in Brazil. And you know Brazil is a country with 200 million people, and we have been in three difference zones of climate. If you play in Canada, we will be in the same zone of climate. ... In Brazil we were at the equator. It was hot, humid, sometimes raining." Brazil is already in the past for FIFA. Canada, if Blatter is to be believed, could be in its future if the womens tournaments are a success. "Next year there is no Brazil. Because Brazil is still in the air somewhere," he said. "But next year its not Brazil. Its the under-20 and then (the Womens World Cup). Theres no (other) big competition next year. So lets go." Cheap Chargers Jerseys Cheap Rams Jersey Cheap Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Vikings Jerseys