The Giants bullpen tried to give the game to the Padres. The Padres hitters tried to give it back. In the end, some sloppy defense and a well-placed fly ball tipped the balance in the Pads’ favor. It may not have been pretty, but it was effective.

Thanks to an extended stop at The Field for prawns and chips, and a pint of Boddington, we didn’t get to the ballpark till the second inning. And, by design, we never did make it to our assigned seats, choosing instead to wander around the park and take in the sights.

As for the game itself, three moments stand out for me:

1. David Wells struck out Barry Bonds on three pitches to open the sixth. Got him to chase a high fastball for strike three. Sweet.
2. Ramon Hernandez hit a two-run jack in the bottom half of the sixth. Right before the pitch I said to my wife, "We really need a homer from Ramon" or words to that effect. I say stuff like this a lot, and most times nothing happens. So it’s less about being psychic and more about being very grateful. And let me just say, it was a bomb to dead center. The best part was watching Marquis Grissom go back to the track and turn to play the carom that never came.
3. Plate umpire Hunter Wendlestedt called Jim Brower’s 3-1 pitch to Rich Aurilia with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh a strike. Let’s just say that one got the Eric Gregg seal of approval. (Even the Giants fans will vouch for me on this one.)

We left in disgust after the Pads failed to score in the seventh. I disowned the club several times during the walk back to the car. But by the time we made it back home I’d cooled off sufficiently to watch the end of the game.

The bottom of the tenth was just surreal. I’m not going to try and describe the sequence of events, but I will say that the throwing error charged to Edgardo Alfonzo never would have happened if J.T. Snow had been playing first base. I don’t know if he was just having a bad game or what, but Pedro Feliz made a pretty strong case last night against the argument that anyone can play a passable first.

As for the play that ended the game, it would’ve been a real close play at the plate with Kerry Robinson tagging on a shallow fly to right. But Dustan Mohr stumbled in the treacherous visitors’ bullpen and was unable to make a throw. Mohr came down very awkwardly on his leg and looked to be in a fair amount of pain. I’m glad the Padres won, but I sure hope Mohr is okay. That looked nasty.

I’ve had concerns about right field at Petco since I got got my first look at the park. My exact words back in March:

Right field is goofy. I don’t know that pictures do it justice, but between the visitors’ bullpen, the little section of seating that juts out to the left of the foul pole, and the deep corner in right-center, this is going to be a bear to cover. Center field looks pretty spacious in itself, but just from the looks of it, a compelling case could be made for sticking one’s best defender in right. There’s a lot of ground to cover, obstacles to avoid, and caroms to learn. I don’t envy Brian Giles (or anyone else who plays there).

I don’t have a lot of complaints about Petco Park after the Pads’ inaugural season there, but I hope the powers-that-be consider moving the visitors’ bullpen at some point. Right field is enough of a challenge at Petco as is, why not make it a little safer for the folks who patrol that area?

Adam Eaton vs Jerome Williams tonight to wrap up the home schedule. We couldn’t knock the Dodgers out of the playoffs. We couldn’t make the playoffs ourselves. Maybe we can at least help send the Giants home early for the winter.