Following an unusual doubleheader the previous day, things will get back to normal for the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night when the two clubs wrap a string of four straight meetings at AT&T Park.
The two clubs played two games on Tuesday, with the second contest a make up encounter from a July 4 postponement in Cincinnati. Though the game was played in San Francisco, the Reds batted second in the night cap.
Cincinnati extended its success this season over San Francisco by taking the opener of the doubleheader 9-3, its fifth victory over the Giants in as many meetings this season.
However, San Francisco battled back to win the second meeting of the day 5-3.
Devin Mesoraco hit a three-run homer for the Reds in the first game, while Zack Cozart had four hits and Tony Cingrani allowed just two runs over 6 2/3 innings.
However, Shin-Soo Choo went 0-for-3 and had a 16-game hitting streak snapped.
Still, the Reds won for the fifth time in six games as they got to Giants starter Eric Surkamp quickly.
Surkamp, in his first start in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery last July 24, yielded seven runs over 2 2/3 innings.
"I was really excited to be out here tonight," said Surkamp. "Unfortunately it didn't work out the way I wanted it to. I still have some things to work on, but I feel like I'm close."
The Giants then snapped a three-game slide by winning the second contest, getting a two-run double from Pablo Sandoval.
The win gave San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy 1,500 victories in his managerial career.
"I don't know what that number means except that I'm fortunate to be doing this as long as I have," said Bochy. "I wish we were in a better situation right now, but I think you're blessed if you're playing it. Again, I'm not sure what it means, but to be mentioned with some of these managers, I'm humbled."
Corky Miller drove in a pair of runs while Todd Frazier went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored for the Reds.
"One or two would have been nice. We had base-runners on almost every inning and had runners on second base a number of times. Their pitchers shut us down," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.
The Reds are five games back of first place in the NL Central, while the Giants sit 6 1/2 games off the pace in the NL West.
Getting the call for Cincinnati tonight will be Mike Leake, who bookended the All-Star break with a pair of wins.
The righty hurled 8 1/3 innings of two-run ball at Milwaukee on July 19, then won a 5-3 decision over Pittsburgh on Friday despite some late struggles. He allowed three home runs in the sixth inning, but each was a solo shot.
Leake improved to 9-4 with a 2.79 earned run average in 19 starts this season and the 25-year-old has never lost to the Giants, going 3-0 with a 4.18 ERA in five meetings (4 starts).
The Giants turn to right-hander Chad Gaudin, who has gone 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in seven starts this season filling in for the injured Ryan Vogelsong.
Gaudin has won consecutive outings and has given up just two runs over his last four starts. He beat Arizona on Friday with seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball, fanning eight without a walk.
The 30-year-old is 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA in 25 total appearances this season and lifetime versus the Reds is 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA in three games, including one start.
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